TIME100 Art: Nigeria’s Olugbile Holloway Named A Global Art Power Player
TIME Magazine has named Olugbile Holloway, Director-General of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, to its inaugural TIME100 Art list of the 100 most influential people shaping the future of art.
Holloway appears on the list as a “repatriation advocate”, making the recognition as much about Nigeria’s campaign to recover its cultural heritage as the man leading it.
His inclusion is unusual in a list populated by artists, collectors, curators and cultural entrepreneurs. Holloway’s influence has been exercised largely through negotiation, rebuilding confidence among institutions and resolving the complex questions surrounding the ownership and future care of Nigeria’s returned artefacts.
TIME draws particular attention to the agreement reached between the NCMM and the Oba of Benin. The 20-page document sets out shared responsibilities concerning the retrieval, conservation and future of the Benin Bronzes.
Art historian Chika Okeke-Agulu told TIME that the agreement grew out of Holloway’s ability to address the uncertainty, within Nigeria and abroad, over the rightful ownership of the objects. The resulting clarity allowed Nigeria to present a unified position in its negotiations with international institutions.
One of the most significant outcomes was the return of 119 Benin Bronzes from the Netherlands in June 2025, the largest single physical repatriation of Benin artefacts to Nigeria.
The NCMM has since secured the legal transfer of 116 Benin Bronzes from the University of Cambridge. Eighteen Benin Bronzes and four Ikom monoliths have also been physically returned from Switzerland.
These returns have placed Nigeria at the centre of the global debate over colonial-era collections and the responsibility of European and North American museums to return objects obtained through military violence and imperial exploitation.
Holloway’s work at the NCMM has also extended to the institutions that will preserve and present the objects at home.
The National Museum, Lagos, has been renovated and its exhibition spaces upgraded with new lighting, display systems and conservation facilities. Its permanent exhibition, Echoes of the Past: A Timeline of Antiquity in Nigeria, draws from cultures and historical periods across the country to present a more coherent account of Nigeria’s development.
The Commission has also launched Nigeria’s first digital museum of antiquities. More than 200 objects from the National Museum’s collection were scanned in three dimensions and placed in an immersive online environment available free to the public.
The project offers access to Nigerian antiquities beyond the physical walls of the museum and opens the collection to young Nigerians, schools, researchers and international audiences.
Holloway, who came into public service after a career in advertising and brand strategy, was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in March 2024.
His TIME100 Art recognition comes less than three years into his tenure and reflects the international attention now being paid to Nigeria’s more coordinated approach to restitution, museum renewal and digital access.
The NCMM currently oversees 53 museums across Nigeria and is responsible for the collection, documentation, conservation and presentation of the country’s cultural property.
With negotiations continuing over Nigerian objects held by the British Museum and other international institutions, Holloway’s inclusion signals that Nigeria’s campaign for the recovery of its heritage has become an influential part of the global art conversation.
