On the first day of Aworan: African Lenses, 170 people walked through the door at LCB Depot in Leicester. They came to look, they stayed to ask questions, and a good number of them stood in front of one frame for far longer than I expected. That is the number I wanted to put on the record, because it says something a review cannot.
On now. Aworan: African Lenses runs until 10 October 2026 at Lightbox Gallery, LCB Depot, 31 Rutland Street, Leicester LE1 1RE. Free entry, Monday to Friday 11am - 5pm, and also open Saturday 10 October. Details and RSVP.
170 people on day one
I will be honest: an opening day is the most uncertain day of any exhibition. You hang around twenty-five framed works, you light them, you write the wall labels, and then you wait to find out whether the room fills. On the first day, 170 people came in.
It was not one kind of crowd. The photographs from the opening show couples and small groups, people on their own, and families with children, all moving through the room at their own pace.
The questions I did not expect
People did not only look. They made enquiries too, and that is exactly the conversation Aworan is meant to start. The word is Yoruba for “image”, and the whole collection is built on the idea that a picture should make you ask a question rather than answer one.
Each artwork has a QR code on its wall label that takes you straight to that piece, so anyone who falls for a frame can go and buy that print. There is more on how that works in the visitor guide.
What the room looked like
The gallery is bright and white, with the works hung at a comfortable height in dark frames, a few in warmer wooden ones. It is a room that lets people move at their own pace. In the photographs you can see small groups clustered at different walls, people photographing the work on their phones, and visitors leaning in to read the notes beside each piece.
Why the number matters to me
I have exhibited in London, in Lagos, in Birmingham, in Bradford and in Hastings. Each time I learn something new about what an audience does with the work. In Lagos, my first solo show, In Thought was acquired by a private collector, the first sale from the collection. Leicester is a new audience for the work, and 170 people on a single day tells me the appetite for contemporary African photography here is real. It is not a niche. It is an audience worth building a room for.
It is also why I timed the show for the start of UK Black History Month. The work belongs in that conversation, and it belongs in a public room where anybody can walk in for free.
What came next
The launch night was a different room again, and that story needs its own post. I have written it up, and there is a film. Read about the launch night here.
Common questions
How many people came on the first day of Aworan: African Lenses?
170 people visited on day one. A further 174 came through the door on the Friday launch night.
Where is the exhibition?
Lightbox Gallery, LCB Depot, 31 Rutland Street, Leicester LE1 1RE. It runs from 25 September to 10 October 2026.
Is it free to attend?
Yes. Entry is free, Monday to Friday 11am - 5pm, and the gallery is also open on Saturday 10 October.
What will I see?
Around twenty-five framed photographs and digital artworks from the Aworan collection. You can preview the collection here before you come.
Can I buy a print?
Yes. Each artwork is an edition of five, priced at £800 with free tracked delivery in the UK. Scan the QR code on the wall label, or visit the collect page.
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