In 2023, ten galleries were presented at Art X Lagos, billed as West Africa’s leading international art fair, down by about two-thirds compared to the prior year. At the time, the fair’s founder Tokini Peterside-Schwebig said the decision was based on a desire “to be part of a solution-oriented society” in response to challenging economic conditions.
The number of exhibitors is the same this year, and—while it might raise questions regarding the state of the fair from a distance—it appears to be having a positive impact on the ground. Around an hour after the collector preview for its ninth edition opened late on Thursday afternoon (31 October), dealers were swamped with collectors eagerly engaging with both them and the art at Lagos’s Federal Palace Hotel.
“It’s just been a few hours in [but] I think it’s a great year so far, because it’s more concise,” says Olugbemiro Arinoso, the founder and director of Lagos-based Affinity Art Gallery. “[And] you speak much more with the collectors and there’s a personal interaction with everybody.” That sentiment was echoed by several attendees, who spoke highly of the more intimate set-up.
At the time of writing, about an hour into the opening, Arinoso told The Art Newspaper that he had two works on hold from his booth, which features work by Damilola Onosowobo, Shannon Bono and Vanessa Endeley. He added that he had a few fresh enquiries too. “Things seem to be moving in the right direction,” he says.
Shannon Bono, Surrendering to his will (2023). Presented by Affinity Art Gallery
Courtesy of Art x Lagos
While Arinoso was optimistic about sales on the collectors preview day, he admitted that some local collectors had concerns about the prevailing political and economic situation, and in particular, the naira exchange rate, which has been highly turbulent in recent years and fell to a record low in September. However, he added that buyers “are adjusting” despite these challenges in their determination to build on their collections.
In addition to Affinity Gallery, there is a strong and diverse cohort of galleries exhibiting at this year’s fair including UK’s Tiwani Contemporary, Cameroon’s Galerie MAM, Ghana’s Gallery 1957 and Afriart Gallery from Uganda.
A more expansive role
Countering the slimmed-down gallery section, Art X Lagos organisers have continued to focus on expanding the fair’s non-commercial programme. Stand-out projects include the first solo exhibition in Africa of the Lagos born New York based photographer and filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu, titled Restless Cities: From Lagos to the World, and a film tribute to the late Herbert O. Wigwe, a collector and former chief executive officer of Access Bank who tragically lost his life early this year. Wigwe is credited as one of the fair’s earliest supporters.
Other initiatives include Mark-Makers: Unsung Pioneers, which celebrates under-appreciated Nigerian trailblazers; The Library which brings together some 200 books, magazines, archival materials, and documentary films related to African history, Pan Africanism, and diasporic studies. There is also Art Across Borders, an exhibition of work by six artists from across Africa and the Caribbean; a schools programme for students from underserved communities in Lagos; and the Speakers Corner: The Crossroads, a new addition to the fair which invites visitors to answer questions—on yellow sticky pads—such as “what keeps you moving?“ and “who keeps you growing?“.
Children take part in last year’s schools’ programme
Courtesy of Art X Lagos
The widening scope of the fair’s programme builds on a decision made between 2020 and 2021, said fair founder Peterside-Schwebig Thursday afternoon during the press preview. While the fair remains committed to its founding ethos of promoting visual art from Africa and its diaspora—and placing commercial value on that work—its leaders thought it could be much more.
“We realised and decided that Art X Lagos could become a platform and a gathering for community that could really now speak to where we desire to go as Nigerians and Africans.” she said. “We're thinking now much more expansively about the role that we can play in helping to shift discourse and mindsets and contribute to our society.”
The curator Missla Libsekal came up with the fair’s theme of Promised Lands, which refers to ‘places, real or imagined, which one actively seeks out, in the hopes of greatly improving one’s situation.’ She told The Art Newspaper that while being hopeful and resilient isn’t easy in the face of difficulties, the programming seeks to offer ways into that by shining a light on people who made groundbreaking inventions or made history despite strenuous conditions.
The curator Missla Libsekal hopes this year’s Art X Lagos creates spaces that allow “us to feel through art, to feel connected, to be able to think”
Courtesy of Art x Lagos
“It's always thinking about the context here and trying to respond in a way that allows us to feel through art, to feel connected, to be able to think,” says Libsekal. “The dialogue projects [involving collaborations and conversations between artists at the last edition] did that in their own way, and I feel like we're taking it to the next level because there's also a lot of audience engagement.”
- Art x Lagos 2024 is open until 3 November 2024