RONGO FOUNDATION
A youth-led Nigerian foundation equipping emerging artists with the structural support, legal literacy, and digital protection required for sustainable growth.
Rongo Art Foundation is a youth-led cultural organisation based in Benin City, Nigeria, working at the intersection of heritage, artistic freedom and professional sustainability.
We exist because emerging artists in Nigeria often possess extraordinary talent but lack the structural support needed to thrive. Informal contracts, limited legal awareness, mobility barriers and digital exploitation risks continue to shape the creative landscape. We respond by building structure through training, advocacy, mentorship and strategic partnerships.
Our work includes the Benin Arts and Books Festival, which celebrates cultural expression and social dialogue, and the Rongo Artist Residency, a multidisciplinary programme that combines artistic production with legal literacy, AI protection awareness and mobility guidance.
We are committed to decentralising cultural infrastructure, strengthening professional standards and ensuring that artists are not merely creative, but protected and positioned for sustainable growth.
Rongo Art Foundation is rooted in heritage, driven by young leadership and building toward a more equitable creative future.
To strengthen artistic freedom, economic sustainability and international mobility for emerging and marginalized artists through capacity building, advocacy, research and strategic support systems.
We envision a creative ecosystem where artists are not only talented, but protected, economically empowered and institutionally supported.
Rooted in heritage. Focused on structure. Committed to the future.
We revive and document Benin City’s artistic heritage while connecting it to contemporary practice. Our programming ensures that cultural memory is not static, but evolving.
We equip artists with:
We help artists move from informal survival to structured practice.
We foster collaboration between African creatives and global practitioners, encouraging dialogue, mobility and shared learning.
We promote the recognition of artists as professionals whose work requires protection, fair remuneration and institutional support.
Meet the minds behind Rongo Art Foundation
A public platform celebrating art, literature and cultural dialogue. The festival creates visibility and opportunity for emerging artists while addressing social issues through creative expression.
A multidisciplinary residency combining artistic production with rights education, mobility awareness and professional mentorship. The residency strengthens artists’ ability to navigate contracts, international opportunities and evolving digital environments.