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Yinka Olatunbosun

FREEE Recycle Limited has marked its fifth anniversary in an inspiring way, with art, culture, and sustainability at the heart of the celebration. The recycling company, known for transforming discarded tyres and industrial waste into valuable products, hosted the maiden edition of its FREEE Art Residency Exhibition in Lagos, unveiling powerful artworks made entirely from reclaimed materials.

Held at Access Bank Headquarters, Oniru, Lagos, on 7 October 2025, the exhibition titled “Echoes of Reclamation: Rebuilding Heritage from Waste” showcased how waste can become both a medium of creativity and a symbol of cultural preservation.

The five-week residency, held earlier in Ibadan, brought together five emerging Nigerian artists: Adesanya Emmanuel, Joseph Ajagbe, Saidu Abdulmumini Degri, Gift Akwajie, and Adenike Adeshina who worked under the mentorship of leading figures in Nigeria’s art and sustainability sectors. The faculty included Prof. Olusegun Jide Ajiboye, founder of Africa’s first Waste Museum; Dotun Popoola, celebrated metal sculptor and founder of the Scrap Art Museum; Oriyomi Pamela Oruka, curator of the National Museum of Unity, Ibadan; Jumoke Olowookere, Tunde Odunlade, and Toyeeb Ajayi, a tyre sculptor and contemporary artist.

Together, the mentors guided the residents in exploring the intersection of art, recycling, and heritage. The results were 13 captivating artworks created from materials such as rubber, fibre, and steel, each piece reimagining waste as a vessel of memory and meaning.

Among the standout works was Gift Akwajie’s “Tales of the Ikom Monolith,” a sculptural homage to the ancient monoliths of Cross River State. “I don’t want the Ikom Monoliths to go into extinction,” Akwajie said. “They are part of our human story — they look magical, almost alive, yet they are neglected. This residency helped me reconnect with my culture and research my roots.”

Other works, such as Joseph Ajagbe’s “Connection” inspired by the shared cultural symbols of Benin and Ife heads invited viewers to rethink how tradition and identity can be reclaimed through creative reuse.

For many of the participants, the residency was their first time experimenting with recycled materials. The programme included visits to the Scrap Museum and the National Museum of Unity, Ibadan, offering an immersive learning experience that merged art-making with environmental awareness.

In her opening speech titled “Five Years Forward: Transforming Waste, Inspiring Futures,” Ifedolapo Runsewe, Managing Director of FREEE Recycle Limited, reflected on the company’s journey from a recycling start-up to a sustainability leader.

“When we began five years ago, we held on to one simple belief — that waste could be transformed into value, and that sustainability could fuel creativity,” Runsewe said.

“Across Africa, waste management remains a pressing challenge. At FREEE, we realized that recycling alone was not enough, so we developed the Integrated Recycling and Manufacturing (IRM) model, a zero-waste system that turns every part of a tyre into something useful.”

She noted that through this model, FREEE has recycled over 250,000 tyres, produced more than 660 metric tonnes of crumb rubber, and reduced carbon emissions by over 8,000 tonnes in just five years.

Runsewe added that the art residency was conceived to “extend the company’s vision beyond industry” by proving that recycling is not only industrial but also deeply creative.

“Today, we proudly present the outcomes of our maiden residency programme. These works remind us that sustainability is both a science and an art — a balance between innovation and imagination,” she said.

Fab-Uche Valerie, the exhibition’s curatorial adviser, described the experience as “an intensive five-week workshop that challenged the artists to give new life to discarded materials.”

“This exhibition is profound,” she said. “To think that art can save lives, this is one way to fight climate change, taking what is waste and turning it into something meaningful. The artists were influenced not just by culture, but by heritage.”

The event also featured a keynote address by Opeyemi Oriniowo, Policy Adviser for Economic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Kingdom of the Netherlands, who commended FREEE’s creative approach to sustainability.

The company says it plans to deepen its investment in innovation, community impact, and creative engagement, continuing to build what Runsewe described as “a bridge between sustainability and culture that defines a new legacy for Africa.”