The Igbo people are relatively new arrivals to Western Australia. Igbo people, one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, started arriving in Western Australia in the 1980s, mainly as students, and by the 1990s, more arrived as skilled migrants. However, there wasn’t a steady flow of Igbos into Western Australia until the early 2000s when the mining boom in WA fuelled an influx of new students and migrant workers.

By 2007, spurred by the death of a prominent Igbo son in WA, some Igbo elders decided to form a structure to support each other, foster Igbo interests and sustain Igbo cultural heritage. This led to the birth of the Igbo Association of Western Australia (IAWA).

The Igbo produce a wide variety of art, including traditional figures, masks, artifacts and textiles, and works in bronze. Artworks from the Igbo have been found from as early as the 9th century, with the bronze artifacts found at Igbo Ukwu.