Photos: Preview of Alliance Française Mike Adenuga Centre Ikoyi, Lagos

Like all Alliance Française centres, Alliance Française Lagos is a non-profit organisation whose statutes and activities in the training of Nigerians in French language and culture have been approved by the Alliance Française Foundation.

Established and led by a Nigerian board after 1959, and functioning also as the headquarters of the General Delegation of the French Alliance in Nigeria, the centre provides a variety of programs, and today sees the registration of about 3,000 students annually. Working closely with both the Alliance Française Foundation in Paris and the Nigerian government in promoting French language and culture, the centre is supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Under the terms of a ten-yearly renewable agreement with the Lagos State Ministry of Education, it also runs a continuing education program for French teachers of the state. While the organisation retains ten sister locations elsewhere in Nigeria – at Enugu, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Maiduguri, Owerri and Port Harcourt, serving nearly 7,000 students, the Lagos Institute is one of the largest such centres in Africa. Since its inception, Alliance Française Lagos has been focusing on three key missions: - Teaching French. - Promoting French and Francophone cultures as well as cultural diversity. - Offering visibility to up-and-coming Nigerian artists.

With the refurbishment and preservation of an old colonial house situated in extensive grounds at 9 Osborne Road, Ikoyi in Lagos, and the addition and architectural incorporation of a modern building alongside it, the new Alliance Française Lagos is taking its activities into a new era. Number 9 Osborne Road, Ikoyi, is the site of the Mike Adenuga Centre, the new home for Alliance Française Lagos. With far-sighted architectural as well as cultural vision, the historic villa on the property has been preserved for the benefit of future generations of Lagosians.

At the same time it will provide a space that is fully integrated with that of its brand-new counterpart, purpose-built for the cultural and educational programmes of the Alliance Française. Designed for People. With the architectural brief requiring the new design to offer a variety of facilities and functionalities, the old villa, whose existing external views could not be changed, needed to contain a reception area, three administrative and leadership offices, a cultural office, a campus France office space, restrooms, as well as an art gallery, a library and a kitchen.

The Mike Adenuga Centre will also be one of the few venues in Lagos equipped with a world-class art gallery – one which will be able to host very high standards exhibitions. An intense programme of exhibitions is planned for the gallery, with a different artist invited to show his or her works – be they in the media of photography, painting, sculpture or video installations – every two weeks. Cinema Room. Every art form will be represented and experienced at the Mike Adenuga Centre, and cinema is no exception. The magnificent 117-seat auditorium will be the setting for daily screenings of French movies. Amphitheatre.

The amphitheatre will offer a performance platform to all musicians, dancers and actors in Lagos and beyond. Artists’ Studio. Every artist understands the need for space and time to develop innate creativity, and to allow it to flower into meaningful artistic expression. The artists’ studio at the Mike Adenuga Centre will perform exactly that function. Artists will have a unique opportunity to use a space that enables them to focus on their creative process in the best conditions possible.

Culled From Dele Momodu/Instagram.