With Amah, Nigerian Artist Daniel Obasi Has Established a Creative Oasis in Lagos

Obasi’s multidisciplinary work moves from fashion to music and film. He has styled Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage, and also worked on the costume design of the hit films, Eyimofe and Breath of Life. In 2022, Obasi released a photo book in collaboration with Louis Vuitton and shot cover stories for Atmos and Rolling Stone U.K.

The vision

When Obasi was still a student at the University of Lagos, he would typically visit Stranger Lagos, the now-defunct restaurant/gathering space where he often saw people, usually from the creative industry, connecting in a space designed especially for that. It was at places like Stranger Lagos and Cafe Neo, filled with possibilities, artistic elements and rich human interactions, that Obasi met lifelong friends and collaborators. It is that same atmosphere that he hopes to establish in Amah.

“People were sitting and just talking to each other whilst they were working,” he says. “And one time there was this exhibition on the window display and people were just working within the space, so that’s how we came up with a co-working space within Amah.” In Amah, Obasi envisions exhibitions, film screenings, photo shoots, listening sessions, DJ residencies, artistic knowledge archives, thoughtfully curated parties and other forms of creative expression set against the backdrop of a boutique restaurant and bar. It’s a clever melding of some of the things Lagosians love most while being selective but not exclusionary. Although guests are required to make appointments to use the working space during the day, the events Amah has lined up will be open to the public.

At a time when exclusive membership spaces are seeing an uptick, Obasi aims to subvert that model, choosing instead to make Amah a space that will be intentional about the events it hosts, but generally accessible to most creative endeavors. “Amah to me feels like somewhere in the step to social building. We want to encourage new conversations, new projects, new ideas and to be vital to the creative landscape.”

A daunting task

Embarking on a project of this scale was especially challenging for Obasi who had some financial stymies along the way, mainly from flaky investors. But eventually, he decided to bootstrap the whole thing himself. It is one of Obasi’s biggest financial decisions, but an ultimately rewarding risk, which is especially fascinating as Amah was birthed from a logistical mistake. While working on a project where queer men are photographed in settings that evoke a sense of safety not typically associated with queerness, Obasi was looking to shoot some subjects on a rooftop but his fixer had mistakenly provided the wrong address. It led him to the Eleganza penthouse, which at the time was in deplorable condition.

“It had potential, but it was going to take a lot of work to get it to where it needs to be. But I'm an artist and I'm used to making things work, especially when there's a vision,” he says.

Work on Amah began in January and was set to finish in two months — a plan that was disrupted by numerous back and forths with building management and protracted timelines for approvals.

“I wanted [it] to be ready [in] August so that people can come in, engage [with] the space. But I guess in a way we're kind of still slightly on track; just that I'm now hurrying things up, which is annoying because that's when mistakes happen because you're at your finishing point and you just want to make sure that everything is perfectly done.”

Although Obasi says Amah is open, he has his eyes set on a somewhat official launch in October, just at the start of Lagos’ famous art season; a period when fashion weeks, art fairs and concerts are in full swing. More than anything, however, Obasi’s hope for Amah is simple. “I get a bit worried because when people have spaces that exist for so long, it becomes a bit boring,” he says. “But I don't want people to ever be tired of this space.”