…As 9-year-old emerges winner
Building on the success of its 2024 debut, amid new layers of vision and impact, the Mother Dearest exhibition has further pushed creative boundaries among young artists in this year’s edition.
Founded and curated by Oluwaseyi “Shayee” Awoyomi, eldest daughter of Nike Davies Okundaye, CEO, Nike Art Gallery, the exhibition featured eight children artists, who freely expressed themselves in their respective works and in line with this year’s theme, “Mother Dearest Eternal Bond”.
The grand finale of the exhibition, which was held on September 14, 2025, at Nike Art Gallery, Lekki, Lagos, saw the eight children artists displaying their works, with parents and school administrators in attendance.
The artists are: Michelle Marcetic, Sophia Akinfolure, Motunrayo Safari & Allegra El-Koussa, Ibrahim Mayowa Mariam Hammad, Omotoni Dada, Dalena Danda and Maria Norman- Salako.
However, Sophia Akinfolure, a 9-year-old pupil from Front Range School, Folagoro Shomolu, Lagos, made history by emerging the winner of the second edition of the art competition, smiling home with N300,000 prize award.
She won with her work titled “Safe in Our Hands.”
Other winners in the art competition include: Michelle Marcetic, who emerged second with her work titled “Mother Gold”, while smiling home with N150,000.
As well, Motunrayo Safari and Allegra El-Koussa, who collaborated to exhibit a work titled: “Stillness of Love”, came third, winning N50,000 cash prize.
Sophia beat seven others to clinch her victory at the exhibition, where a total of eight artworks were exhibited, with each showcasing the creative masterpieces of the young artists.
Also, each work is designed in a unique perspective to convey the message, which the artists want to pass on to their viewers, amid good finishing of the works.
The event also witnessed the presentation of certificates to the participating young artists for their performance, as their passion for art ignited hope of a bright future for them in the art industry.
The competition aimed to encourage and develop children talented in arts so as to deepen their interests in arts and make a good living out of the business. The enthusiastic children wowed the guests with their works and short remarks about their products.
The exhibition gave room for talented children to excel in arts and an opportunity to see arts beyond their energy. The exhibition was to reward hard work and excellence amongst children talented in arts.
Sophia, winner of the competition, expressed gratitude to Nike Arts Gallery for giving her the opportunity to express her talent in art, saying that she was excited at her performance as champion of the competition.
“Art is everything to me. I have learnt that art is beyond pieces of works but conveys lasting impressions on issues of life,” Sophia said, while encouraging fellow children to embrace art with passion.
Olabowale Ajayi, proprietor, Front Range School, a guest at the exhibition, was excited that her pupil emerged winner of the competition.
“Sophia has brought honour to her school. She is now an asset to us. We intend to nurture and introduce her to more artworks to enable her to do greater works in the future,” she assured.
Ibrahim Mayowa, one of the artists, dedicated his work titled “Wurami” to his late mother, who died at the conceptual stage of his work.
Speaking of the exhibition, Oluwaseyi “Shayee” Awoyomi, founder of Shayee Arts and director, Nike Art Gallery USA, noted that Mother Dearest is more than an exhibition.
“It is a heartfelt tribute to the nurturing spirit, sacrifices, and creative legacy of mothers everywhere.
“It is a love letter to the women who raise us, shape us, and inspire us. It is also a space for artists—especially emerging talents—to feel seen, supported, and encouraged,” Shayee said.
Also commenting on this year’s exhibition, Nike Davies-Okundaye, founder, Nike Art Gallery, expressed confidence that the competition is bringing the best of talented children in the art.
She expressed amazement at the quality of the works showcased at the exhibition, saying that the show is designed to expose young people to art at an early stage of their lives.
“This second edition is meant to give children the room to express their talents from the early stage. We need to go back to the basis to develop young people in the business of art,” Nike said.
She revealed that the 2026 edition would be more exciting, in terms of participation and personalities that would grace the event.
But one unique thing about this year’s exhibition was the collaboration by two artists to produce a piece of work, an idea the gallery impressively welcomed.
It also broke records with over 20,000 viewers, marking a record in audience reach and visibility.
While the inaugural exhibition established a foundation of storytelling and visual celebration, this year’s edition expanded in scale and reach. Young artists from varied backgrounds participated, the programming featured richer audience interaction, and the competition element inspired a wave of community voting unlike anything seen before.
The organisers hope to build on the two successful editions for the 2026 competition.
