About Five Cowries

Creativity: The Currency Of The Future.

Five Cowries Arts Education Initiative was founded in 2018 to offer more inclusive pathways into education by integrating the arts into teaching in order to improve learning outcomes. FCI was born out of the over thirty years engagement in the arts and education space by artist, illustrator and educator, Polly Alakija.

FCI works with dedicated public and private sector partners across Lagos, Nigeria and the world to deliver programmes that improve education and that also engage our children and young people with narratives of social and global impact and importance, from conservation, citizenship, health, migration and new technologies to pollution.

We work closely with a range of partners to raise the profile of these initiatives, by showcasing the works of our young people both here in Nigeria and around the world.

FCI is indebted to its partners and the stellar network of artists and educationalists from across Nigeria and around the world who contribute to our programme in a variety of ways.

The work of FCI is made possible through the dedication of our board of Trustees:
Polly Alakija
Yemisi Mokuolu
Folake Akinkugbe
Tim Newbold
Uma Kymal

Our Team: