ART X Lagos announces its relocation to The Federal Palace in Victoria Island, after three editions at The Civic Centre.
From Friday 1st November (VIP Preview) to Sunday 3rd November 2019, the fourth edition of West Africa’s premier international art fair promises to showcase the very best of contemporary and modern art from Africa and the Diaspora.
The move to The Federal Palace marks a significant step in ART X Lagos’ evolution, offering the fair a vastly increased venue capacity, with the number of participants growing from 14 booths to 23 gallery booths, with several exhibitors occupying much larger booths.
A strong host of Nigerian galleries will return this November, with exhibitors including Art House – The Space, Bloom Art, Nike Art Gallery, Retro Africa, SMO Contemporary, as well as the addition of Mydrim Gallery, amongst others. Ed Cross Fine Art (United Kingdom), Everard Read (South Africa), Galerie Voss (Germany), Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Côte d’Ivoire), Goodman Gallery (South Africa) and LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery (Côte d’Ivoire) make up some of the new international exhibitors who will showcase at ART X Lagos this November.
A number of exciting artists from across the continent and beyond will showcase this year, including Abe Odedina (Nigeria / UK / Brazil), Soly Cissé (Senegal), Sam Nhlengethwa (South Africa), Tizta Berhanu (Ethiopia), Peju Alatise (Nigeria), and Lady Skollie (South Africa) who make up some of the 70 plus exhibiting artists. Visit artxlagos.com to view the full list of artists and exhibitors for the 2019 fair.
The Fourth Edition of the fair also sees the introduction of ART X Modern, a new section dedicated to celebrating pioneers of African modern art from the 20th century, presented by Stanbic IBTC Pensions. This section will comprise of three galleries: Bloom Art (Nigeria), Mydrim Gallery (Nigeria) and Gallery 1957 (Ghana), featuring artists such as Professor Ablade Glover (Ghana), Uche Okeke (Nigeria), and Obiora Udechukwu (Nigeria), amongst other well reputed names.
ART X Lagos’ move to The Federal Palace allows for greater curated sections and an enhanced visitor experience including the introduction of a Performance Art section for 2019. Curated by artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji, The Performance Art Pavilion will feature a series of performances exploring the connection between art and ethics. Titled Small Acts, this section will comprise of three live performances by Nigerian artists Ngozi Schommers, Eca Eps, and Taiwo Aiyedogbon developed specifically for ART X Lagos.
ART X Lagos founder, Tokini Peterside commented,
“We are delighted to announce the ambitious expansion of ART X Lagos this year. Our move to The Federal Palace enables us to deliver, at our fourth edition, a markedly enhanced experience from prior years, with the addition of new sections as well as the growth in the fair’s size and scope. We continue to redefine the boundaries of what an art fair can hope to achieve, through our curated and interactive projects, our Prize for emerging artists, as well as ART X Live! – all of which combine to showcase the very best of contemporary and modern, established and emerging, art and culture from Africa and the Diaspora. We are excited to see how our audience responds to these innovations, and look forward to welcoming visitors from all over the world to ART X Lagos this year.”
The Access Bank ART X Prize
Following a rigorous screening process by the jury, earlier in September, five finalists were invited to present their final presentations to the Jury. After further deliberation, eventually Etinosa Yvonne, a self-taught documentary photographer, based in Abuja, originally from Benin City, was revealed as the winner of the 2019 Access Bank ART X Prize, at the ART X Lagos 2019 Official Launch Event on Thursday 12th September. Etinosa Yvonne will claim the winnings of a cash grant of N 1,500,000, a three-month residency at Gasworks, London, in 2020, and a solo presentation at ART X Lagos in 2020.
Runners-up Ayomitunde Adeleke, Christopher Nelson Obuh, Yadichinma Ukoha-Kalu, and Peter Ebahi Okotor, will also exhibit alongside 2019 Winner Etinosa Yvonne, at the Access Bank ART X Prize section of the fair this November.
Amaechi Okobi, Group Head of Corporate Communications, Access Bank, expressed his delight at the impact the 2019 Prize had made: “Following the success of last year’s Prize, it is wonderful to see over double the number of applications in 2019. Access Bank remains committed to the patronage of the art sector in Nigeria, and it is our goal to support and impact emerging artists in Nigeria, through the Prize. The quality of Etinosa Yvonne’s work is a testament to the potential of emerging artists in Nigeria, aided by a platform like the Access Bank ART X Prize.”
Thursday night also saw the hotly anticipated reveal of the line-up for the 2019 edition of ART X Live!, the one-night-only dynamic visual art and live music show on the Saturday night of the fair. This year the show will celebrate some of Lagos’ most exciting emerging and underground mavericks. Artists who do what they like, with influences from all over, who don’t care to fit into boxes or classifications. The 2019 line-up will feature visual art by Dafe Oboro and Joy Matashi; live performances from WurlD, Lady Donli, and Buju; with TMXO brought in as the show’s producer, curated by Lanre Masha (Music) and Faridah Folawiyo (Art) . ART X Live! is invite only, but follow @artxlagos on social media for a chance to win tickets to the show.
Ticket sales for ART X Lagos 2019 begins on Monday, 23rd September. Keep an eye on the ART X Lagos official website for more details: https://artxlagos.com/
Launched in 2016, ART X Lagos 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. Through its contribution to the increased visibility of African artists, ART X Lagos aims to reinforce the visual arts as an important component of the creative industry in Nigeria and Africa, and to position Lagos as an emergent cultural capital on the continent. For more information please visit: www.artxlagos.com
ART X Lagos 2019 is proudly sponsored by Access Bank (Gold Sponsor); Stanbic IBTC Pensions, 7UP (Silver Sponsors); The Ford Foundation (Diversity & Education Sponsor); Anap Jets, Chapel Hill Denham, Tangerine.ng (Bronze Sponsors); Tiger Beer (ART X Live! Sponsor); Leadway Assurance, The SAGE Innovation Centre (Category Sponsors); The Financial Times, EbonyLife TV, Business Day, DSTV, Smooth FM, The Beat 99.9 FM, Trace TV (Media Sponsors).
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