Yoruba art city in Osun State, anchored by the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove and studios
Oshogbo is the art capital of Nigeria. The city is filled with art studios that produce some of Africa's most inspiring works. The Oja Oba market is a good place to shop for souvenirs, especially if you're into juju. The market is across the street from the Oba's palace.
The highlight of Oshogbo is the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the outskirts of town. Austrian artist Suzanne Wenger spent decades restoring and creating monumental sculptures among the traditional Yoruba shrines here. The annual Osun festival in August draws huge crowds.
Oshogbo also has a vibrant contemporary art scene rooted in the Oshogbo Art Movement that emerged in the 1960s. The Nike Art Gallery is one of the finest collections of Yoruba traditional art in Nigeria, and the Adunni Olorisha Trust continues Suzanne Wenger's legacy. The city sits in Osun State, about 80 km northeast of Ibadan.
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Getting There
Oshogbo has no commercial airport. The nearest airports are at Ibadan (about 75 km south) and Lagos (180 km southwest). Osogbo is well connected by road: buses and shared taxis run regularly from Lagos, Ibadan, and Abuja. The journey from Lagos takes around three hours under good conditions; from Abuja it is about five hours.
Within Nigeria, interstate buses from motor parks in Lagos (Ojota and Jibowu) go direct to Oshogbo. The town's main motor park — Oke Baale — handles long-distance arrivals. Shared taxis from Ibadan are faster and more comfortable for that leg.
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When to Go
Oshogbo lies in the forest belt of southwestern Nigeria and has a tropical wet and dry climate. The dry season runs roughly from November to March, when the Harmattan wind blows in from the Sahara, coating everything in fine dust but keeping temperatures manageable. The wet season (April to October) brings heavy rainfall and sometimes floods the lower-lying parts of the city.
The best reason to time your visit is the Osun-Osogbo Festival, held each August over two weeks. The festival begins with the lighting of the 500-year-old Ina Olojumerindinlogun (sixteen-point lamp) and builds to the arugba procession to the river. This is one of the major cultural festivals of Yorubaland and draws tens of thousands of worshippers and visitors from across Nigeria and the diaspora. Accommodation fills up well in advance; book early.