Ekow Nimako premieres at the Wereldmuseum Amsterdam with a work made of one million black LEGO® bricks

Internationally renowned artist Ekow Nimako will open a new temporary exhibition at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam on October 31, featuring a monumental Afrofuturist artwork constructed from one million black LEGO® bricks: Building Black Civilizations – The Nile 3025 CE. This new and largest architectural piece to date also marks Nimako’s Dutch premiere.

Nimako has previously exhibited in museums and galleries in Toronto, New York, Paris, Dubai, Seoul, London, San Francisco, Vienna, and at the Berlin Biennale. By bringing the artist to the Netherlands for this temporary exhibition, Wereldmuseum promises a unique and creative experience for both art lovers and LEGO® fans alike.

Under the title Building Black Civilizations, Wereldmuseum Amsterdam and Ekow Nimako present a powerful and playful Afrofuturist artwork nearly seven meters long, visualizing the rich history and potential futures of Black civilizations along the Nile River — futures of African civilizations that flourish: powerful, visionary, and uninterrupted by colonialism. Visitors are offered a broad perspective on a shared future and, through an interactive space filled with more than 80,000 recycled LEGO® bricks, the opportunity to unleash their own creativity and literally add their own piece to the story. Let’s go – LEGO®.

A monument for the future

With The Nile 3025 CE, Ekow Nimako adds a new work to his ongoing series Building Black Civilizations. This series of sculptures, composed of hundreds of thousands of black LEGO® bricks, forms a powerful tribute to the richness of African history and creative power. Previous works in the series — such as Journey of 2000 Ships — explore mythical and historical narratives surrounding the legendary 14th-century expedition of Mansa Abu Bakr II. A key piece in that series, The Bay of Banjul (The Abdication of Abu Bakr II), references Banjul as the supposed departure point of this fleet. Other highlights include Asamando (approx. 500,000 LEGO® elements) and Isla Ewi (approx. 200,000). He also created Kumbi Saleh 3020 CE, a utopian metropolis measuring 3 m² and made up of around 100,000 LEGO® bricks — the centerpiece of his exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum, now part of its permanent collection.

In Nimako’s newest work, The Nile 3025 CE — on view from October 31 at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam — a visionary landscape unfolds along the Nile. From Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean, Nimako envisions a connected Africa — borderless, thriving, and collective. The nearly seven-meter-long sculpture, composed of one million black LEGO® bricks, features abstract forms that evoke cities, spiritual dimensions, and civilizations.

Through his work, Nimako invites the public to ask powerful questions:
What if African civilizations had never been interrupted by colonialism? What if African history, creativity, and architecture formed the foundation of how we understand the world today? And what if we could imagine entirely new futures — shaped by different stories, values, and perspectives?

By deliberately using black LEGO® bricks, Nimako harnesses the power of play and imagination. He weaves architecture, historical sources, and speculative storytelling into visions of the future where Black civilizations stand at the center — free from the distortions and exclusions characteristic of colonial archives.

Building Black Civilizations – The Nile 3025 CE challenges visitors to rethink the past, see the present through a different lens, and envision futures once deemed impossible.

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Interactive: building is making, and making is collective

What if we could not only imagine the future — but also build it? In Building Black Civilizations – The Nile 3025 CE, Ekow Nimako and Wereldmuseum Amsterdam invite visitors to do exactly that.

The exhibition is staged as a theatrical, darkened space, designed to focus attention and minimize distraction. There are no historical collection objects included; by setting aside traditional museum references, the installation opens up a space for free and creative imagining of new futures.

Visitors are first given insight into Nimako’s creative process through original sketches and a “making of” film. At the end of the exhibition, they are invited into a dedicated room to build their own creations. At a long table, thousands of black LEGO® bricks await. Anyone can participate — young or old, experienced builder or curious newcomer. What you build is up to you: a bridge, a mountain, a prayer space, or a home. Each addition becomes visible to the next visitor, creating a collective composition — a living artwork that evolves throughout the exhibition’s run.

The installation is a tribute to the broad concept of making — to the creative process, to play as a serious form of thought, and to the belief that the future is not fixed but something we can build together.

Afrofuturism – worlds that do not yet exist

Afrofuturism is both an aesthetic practice and a philosophical approach that reimagines the past, present, and future of African societies and their diasporas through technology, speculative imagination, spirituality, and art. It is both a genre and a mindset in which Black stories shape the future — from futuristic cities rooted in African mythology to sculptures that merge technology with ancestral knowledge, envisioning worlds where Black identity is not constrained but celebrated.

Ekow Nimako’s work strongly embodies this ethos. Using hundreds of thousands of black LEGO® bricks, the Ghanaian-Canadian artist creates mythical sculptures that are as futuristic as they are spiritual. His art offers an alternative narrative where Black civilizations are not reduced to colonial side notes but honored as sources of ancient knowledge, creativity, and resilience. For Nimako, building with LEGO® is both serious future-thinking and a playful invitation to collectively bring new worlds to life.

Programming: Ekow Nimako in conversation with the city

The collaboration between Ekow Nimako and Wereldmuseum Amsterdam began when Wayne Modest, Director of Content at Wereldmuseum, first encountered Nimako’s work. Modest was struck by the alignment between Nimako’s artistic approach and the museum’s mission to rethink and rewrite historical narratives, explore speculative practices that imagine alternative histories and futures, and examine the aesthetics and power of everyday life.

This shared vision led to the collaboration. Nimako created Building Black Civilizations – The Nile 3025 CE exclusively for this exhibition and will be present in the Netherlands for the diverse public programming surrounding the opening, organized in partnership with local collaborators.

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Artist talk | Black Achievement Month

On Thursday, October 30, 2025, the Research Center for Material Culture (RCMC) — the research institute of Wereldmuseum — will host a special Artist Talk with Ekow Nimako. The event coincides with the exhibition opening and is part of Black Achievement Month.

During this session, Nimako will speak about his work, the ideas shaping his artistic practice, and his vision of making and Afrofuturism. The program includes a presentation by the artist followed by an audience Q&A, moderated by Rita Ouédraogo, co-founder and curator of Buro Stedelijk.

Attendees are welcome from 3:00 PM, with a welcome drink on arrival. Marieke van Bommel, General Director of Wereldmuseum, will give opening remarks at 3:15 PM, followed by Nimako’s talk, which concludes at 5:00 PM. Visitors can then explore the exhibition until 6:00 PM.

Location: Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, Linnaeusstraat 2
Admission: Free, advance registration required via the Wereldmuseum Amsterdam event page.

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Museum Night | Meet & greet with the artist: Ekow Nimako

On Saturday, November 1, during Museum Night Amsterdam, Ekow Nimako will host three inspiring and interactive LEGO® building sessions. The artist will share his process, sources of inspiration, and techniques, inviting participants to co-create a future living environment — a more just and equitable world aligned with the museum’s mission.

The Meet & Greet ties directly into the exhibition’s interactive nature, offering a unique opportunity to learn directly from a globally acclaimed artist.

These public activities underline that Building Black Civilizations – The Nile 3025 CE is more than an artwork. It is a platform for encounter, dialogue, and co-creation. Together, we build a future where play, imagination, and representation are central.

An artist of international stature

Ekow Nimako (Ghana/Canada) is an internationally recognized pioneer in using black LEGO® bricks as a medium for contemporary art. Since 2012, he has created sculptures that have been exhibited worldwide and featured by major outlets including CNN, BBC, VICE, WIRED, and France24. His collaboration with The LEGO® Group earned a D&AD Award.

What began as play for television evolved into an artistic mission: to shape a future where Black experiences and stories take center stage. His work uniquely merges technique, spirituality, imagination, and playfulness.

Reimagining the future — brick by brick

The Netherlands is in a period of reckoning with its colonial history and the structural inequalities that stem from it. Dialogue has begun, but remains unfinished. In this context, the collaboration between Ekow Nimako and Wereldmuseum Amsterdam represents more than an artistic exchange — it’s a fusion of cultural imagination and social engagement, sparking reflection, conversation, and collective envisioning of a more just and inclusive future.

Wereldmuseum consciously pursues a decolonial direction, actively working toward a fairer world. By inviting artists like Nimako, the museum challenges dominant histories and amplifies new perspectives — not as add-ons to Eurocentric narratives, but as starting points for deeper understanding of the world around us.

This vision extends even to practical details: the thousands of LEGO® bricks used by visitors are secondhand and rented, reflecting a commitment to circular reuse and reimagining existing materials.

This exhibition and collaboration are not an endpoint, but an invitation — to think freely, build creatively, and collectively imagine a future where previously marginalized stories form the foundation of what’s possible.

The exhibition at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam opens to the public on October 31 and runs until March 8, 2026.