The Grounds

The Foundation is lodged in a sprawling ranch-like red brick building with extensive woodwork – exterior verandahs as well as end-to-end wood panel ceiling, isolated amid a nature preserve located in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. It has been joined by a separate bungalow - acquired specifically to provide accommodation for the “Junior Fellows” – that is, 25 years and below - at whom the Foundation projects are primarily beamed in its search for, and development of young creative talent. Professor Soyinka’s donated acquisition contains over five hundred pieces largely made up of traditional sculptures, paintings by contemporary Nigerian artists, ceramics, and culture related objects from antiquity. Some of his papers – also donated – are housed in this building

The Foundation Grounds Holds Art works donated by Professor Wole Soyinka to the Foundation, a collection that spans nearly sixty years. Selections from this collection have been exhibited domestically such as at the Lagos Black Heritage Festival, and globally such as at the inauguration of the Niemeyer Art Centre in Oviedo, Spain and with large selection exhibited at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University in 2017.  The Residency has been designated a “Heritage Home” by the Ogun State government, in company with a handful of others, such as the home of the former Deputy Director of WHO, Professor Thomas Lambo, the first indigenous head of the Nigerian Civil Service and former Ambassador to the UNO, Chief Simeon Adebo - in addition to many palaces and historic homes in Ogun State.

As the Foundation has gathered financial strength, it has expanded with new facilities – such as an annex close to the main building which itself stands amid 4.2 hectares of near pristine land, sliced through by a narrow stream. The annex presently constitutes the residential sector.  Further landscape development is planned to enhance the environment. Visual Artists and designers will exhibit on the main Foundation grounds, where experimental performances will also take place in a small Amphitheatre. There will be occasional screenings – selectively open to the public - of the more accomplished works from the Nigerian film industry. International film classics past and present will be featured, its goal being to stimulate innovation in local cinema artistry. The Foundation grounds and the main building with its expanding body of art collection, will be thrown open to the public on specified days, while a specialist library will cater for reference and research.