Hope Collective and Lagos Arts Council Launch Maiden Rhythm of Lagos Cultural Festival

The Hope Collective Limited (THC) has announced a partnership with the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture to host the inaugural Rhythm of Lagos Cultural Festival.

According to a statement released on Wednesday, the festival is a celebration of Lagos’ creativity, heritage, and diversity, highlighting arts, dance, food, and cultural expression.

THC Director Samson Agboola said the festival will be a year-long cultural movement spanning 100 locations across Lagos, engaging over 500,000 residents in live performances, creative workshops, culinary exhibitions, and other activities that showcase the city as a hub of Nigerian culture.

The initiative will also launch a youth-focused creative challenge, the “My Arts, My Culture Creation Competition”, inviting art students from universities and senior secondary schools to produce more than 1,000 Yoruba-inspired artifacts. The competition, running from November 2025 to February 2026, encourages participants to transform traditional motifs into modern, functional art across fashion, sculpture, digital media, musical instruments, and scripts.

Agboola said the festival aims to attract 5,000 participants through digital check-ins, involve 5,000 youths in arts, dance, and culinary activities, and feature at least 1,000 original student-created artifacts. The event will showcase these creations, crown national dance and culinary champions, and hold a live auction of limited-edition artifacts to fund youth scholarships.

Describing the festival as a transformational cultural project, Agboola added, “The Rhythm of Lagos is more than a festival—it is a movement that celebrates our identity, unites communities, and provides a platform for the next generation of cultural innovators.”

Through this collaboration, THC and the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture aim to position Lagos as Africa’s cultural capital by promoting inclusive, creative, and sustainable cultural engagement.