Africa’s leading artists converge for Art X Lagos 2017

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A total of 60 artists and 13 leading international art galleries will feature at the 2017 ART X Lagos holding at the Civic Center, Lagos from November 3 to 5.

The founder and director, ART X Lagos, Tokini Peterside, disclosed this at a media briefing held at Wheatbaker Hotel, in Lagos, on Monday.

Ms. Peterside said the event would include exhibiting galleries and artists, special- curated projects, a programme of talks, the ART X Prize, and a music show.

“This year’s art fair will also include curated projects across performance arts, installation, photography and video art, to create a conversational showpiece for ART X Lagos at The Civic Centre. ART X was launched in 2016 and it is West Africa’s first international art fair, designed to showcase the best and most innovative contemporary art from the African continent and diaspora and to widen Nigeria’s connection to the art scene across Africa and internationally,” she noted.

The 13 Exhibiting Galleries for the 2017 edition include: Art House – The Space (Nigeria), Bloom Art (Nigeria), Foundation Donwahi (Ivory Coast), Gallery 1957 (Ghana), Galerie Atiss (Senegal), Gallery MAM (Cameroon), Nubuke Foundation (Ghana), Retro Africa (Nigeria), Signature Beyond (Nigeria), SMO Contemporary (Nigeria), Stevenson Gallery (South Africa), TAFETA (United Kingdom), and Tiwani Contemporary (United Kingdom).

Notable artists among the 2017 line-up include the Nigerian-born, British-based, globally renowned artist and sculptor, Yinka Shonibare MBE, as well as Zanele Muholi (South Africa), Jeremiah Quarshie (Ghana), Modupeola Fadugba (Nigeria), Nandipha Mntambo (Swaziland), Virginia Chihota(Zimbabwe), Boris Nzebo (Cameroon), Babajide Olatunji(Nigeria), Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum (Botswana), Amadou Sanogo (Mali) and Portia Zvavahera (Zimbabwe).

In addition, ART X Lagos has invited four independent artists to present a curated selection of their own works: Polly Alakija, Rom Isichei, Lakin Ogunbanwo and Oluseye.

This year’s art fair will also include curated projects across performance art, installation, photography and video art, to create a conversational showpiece for ART X Lagos at The Civic Centre.

The artists selected by curator, Missla Libsekal, and founder of art journal, Another Africa are: Nástio Mosquito(Angola) and Pere Ortin, Lemi Ghariokwu (Lagos, Nigeria), Yaw Owusu (Accra, Ghana), Rahima Gambo (Abuja, Nigeria), Johnson Uwadinma (Port Harcourt, Nigeria), Olu Amoda(Lagos, Nigeria) and Wura Natasha Ogunji (Nigeria / USA). In addition, the Access Bank Collection will present to the general public for the first ever in Nigeria, seven wooden sculptures by Ben Enwonwu MBE, originally commissioned by the Daily Mirror in 1960, to mark the artist’s 100th natal anniversary.

A programme of talks, also curated by Missla Libsekal, will include talks with Njideka Akunyili Crosby, the Nigerian-born LA-based artist recently shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize 2017, and Lemi Ghariokwu, the mastermind behind Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti’s album artwork.

Meanwhile, a Whitespace Creative Agency will curate the Interactive Projects of the fair, to appeal to its vast and varied audience. The emerging artists to be featured this year include Olalekan Jeyifous, Dipo Doherty, Queen Nwaneri, Soji Adesina, Sejiro Avoseh and Lubee Abubakar.

The art fair will see the return of ‘ART X Live! with Absolut’, a live art and music performance featuring musicians AYE, Poe and Tomi Thomas, alongside talented visual artists. Moreso, Absolut and ART X Lagos will this year introduce the ‘ART X Absolut Commission’, an installation that responds to present-day societal urgencies, supporting freedom of expression. The inaugural commission invites Olatunde Alara, a young artist living and working in Lagos, to respond to the theme ‘Artist as Citizen’.

Winner of the ART X Prize, sponsored by Access Bank, will be announced on the 5th of November, at the closing ceremony. The 2016 winner, Patrick Akpojotor will also be exhibiting at this year’s fair.