ART X LAGOS returns 
4 - 7 NoVEMBER 2021

Words by The ART X Editorial Team
June 2021

'CLOUD MISCHIEF', JOSEPH OBANUBI, 2018. COURTESY: MAGNIN-A

This November, West Africa’s premier international art fair ART X Lagos will return with a physical/digital hybrid event that celebrates artistic excellence from Africa and its Diaspora. The physical fair will be held from 4 - 7 November at The Federal Palace in Victoria Island, Lagos, while audiences around the world will be able to view works online from 4 - 21 November on ARTXLAGOS.COM and Artsy.

'CUP OF COFFEE IN SOLITUDE', UZO EGONU, 1980. COURTESY: kÓ

A number of galleries around the world will be participating in ART X Lagos 2021, including: kó (Lagos, Nigeria), SMO Contemporary Art (Lagos, Nigeria), DADA Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria and London, United Kingdom), Nike Art Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria), Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Dakar, Sénégal; and Paris, France), LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire), Nubuke Foundation (Accra, Ghana), Gallery 1957 (Accra, Ghana and London, United Kingdom), Circle Art Gallery (Nairobi, Kenya), Afriart Gallery (Kampala, Uganda), Stevenson (Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Eclectica Contemporary (Cape Town, South Africa), WORLDART (Cape Town, South Africa), MAGNIN-A (Paris, France), Tiwani Contemporary (London, United Kingdom), October Gallery (London, United Kingdom), Kanbi Projects (London, United Kingdom), Ed Cross Fine Art (London, United Kingdom), Skoto Gallery (New York, United States), OOA Gallery (Barcelona, Spain) and Sakhile&Me (Frankfurt, Germany), with more to be announced in the coming months.

The Access Bank ART X Prize – Nigeria’s leading award for emerging visual artists – also returns after a hiatus due to Covid-19. The 2019 winner, documentary photographer Etinosa Yvonne, will commence a three-month residency at Gasworks in London this summer, to create work for a special solo exhibition at the fair in November, curated by Wura-Natasha Ogunji. Applications for the 2021 Access Bank ART X Prize will open in a few weeks.

In addition to presenting work by Africa’s leading galleries and artists, ART X Lagos’ 2021 curated programme will include: ART X Talks, a lively and robust series of conversations exploring themes pertinent to the state and evolution of contemporary art in Africa, curated by Aude Mgba; ART X Live!, a platform for expression and experimentation by Africa’s dynamic young creators that fuses music and visual art, curated by Lanre Masha and Faridah Folawiyo; and special projects which will include an exploration of NFT art on the continent, curated by Papa Omotayo and AWCA. The 2021 programme will present an invitation to reflect on the contemporary challenges being faced across Africa, and a call to consider the future of the continent. Artists who have previously participated in ART X Lagos’ curated programme include Hank Willis Thomas, El Anatsui, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Wangechi Mutu.