Welcome! Knowing that you are here to discover, learn and enjoy art or simply enquire brings me great joy. At the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, we continue to offer our programmes, exhibitions, and activities, opening our doors to a safe and transformative learning experience.
Serving as director of the YSMA has been an exciting journey. My team and I are aware of our great responsibility as a pioneering university art museum in the country, and we are dedicated to ensuring the contribution of this university unit towards a better society.
We are truly grateful to our grand donor, Prince Shyllon, for his generous and ambitious contribution towards the implementation of this dream, and to Pan-Atlantic University for supporting it from the onset. We thank all artists and collectors who have aided and contributed to our mission so far. For their efforts, the YSMA is privileged to have one of the most comprehensive and diverse art collections in the country and we make it accessible to all visitors. We hope that the YSMA will become a gateway to the Pan-Atlantic University and a visitors’ destination in Lagos.
PAU offers a transformative learning experience and has the integral formation of the person and the advancement of responsible citizenship as her core mission. At the YSMA, we are committed to contributing to the achievement of this goal by offering PAU students, faculty, staff, and visitors a valuable resource to develop a deep appreciation for the visual arts.
From the beginning, we have given special attention to educational programming for schools in Lagos. We have set up two academic-oriented workshops, the Pre-Colonial Societies Programme (PSN) and the Art Appreciation Programme (AAP), to facilitate this goal. We are also collaborating with different departments and units of the university to offer our students an exceptional vehicle for learning about Nigerian art.
Our website offers resources on several artworks from our growing collection as well as insight into the activities of the Museum including exhibitions, school workshops, membership programme, and more. As the world continues to quickly move past the worst of the pandemic, we hope the virtual museum will soon become an indispensable tool for those interested in Nigerian art and will attract many others to come to Pan-Atlantic University and experience these works physically.
We continue to count on your support as we look forward to your visit to see our ongoing exhibition, 'Forms and Symbols'.
Jess Castellote
Director, Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art
Pan-Atlantic University