The ancient tradition of the baobab tree is gathering award-winning artists in Lagos
The Access Art X Prize showcases the work of artists from Africa and its diaspora, giving creative people a chance to share their talent with the world. Two new winners were selected at the latest edition of Art X Lagos, the international art fair that aims to connect Nigeria, Africa, and the rest of the world.
The art scene in Lagos, Nigeria, was buzzing as it hosted the seventh edition of the annual international art fair, Art X Lagos, in November. The 2022 edition, the fair’s largest to date, featured 31 galleries from over 40 countries, exhibiting more than 120 artists.
The theme for the 2022 edition was ‘Who will gather under the baobab tree?’ Commonly known as the tree of life, the baobab traditionally served as a gathering place for communities in the African savannah.
“The idea is simply that we wish to spark conversation between our various audiences. We want to invite people to explore with us the wisdoms from Africa's past, the philosophies, the ideologies, and then learn from that and determine how we wish to move forward into the future,” explains Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, the founder and CEO of Art X Lagos.
“We all know the world, Nigeria, is going through so many different challenges at the moment. And so, even though we are in a fair where art is celebrated to uplift, inspire, and empower, we also believe it's very important to have important conversations in a forum like this.”
Celebrating artists from Africa and the diaspora
Since it was founded in 2016, the fair has featured a prize for emerging Nigerian artists: the Access Art X Prize. For the 2022 edition, a winner from Africa and its diaspora was also announced. The winners were awarded a $10,000 grant each, a three-month-long residency at Gasworks studios in London or at the G.A.S. Foundation in Lagos, the opportunity to exhibit at the 2023 Art X Lagos fair, and cultural exchange opportunities to support their success on the global stage.
Filmmaker and photographer Dafe Oboro won the Nigeria Award for his works that aim to destabilize the often-reductive understandings of Africa in the mainstream popular media, with a refreshed, more nuanced perspective.
Oboro’s films have already reached the international stage, with screenings at festivals such as the Fashion Film Festival Milano in 2019 and the London Short Film Festival in 2021.
“Art is storytelling. Through art we can tell our own stories, showcase the good that comes out of this beautiful continent, and ultimately change the narrative.”
Amaechi Okobi, chief communications officer for Access Corporation.
Austria-based writer, artist, and scholar Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski won the Africa/diaspora award for her works rooted in black feminist theory. Kazeem-Kaminski has developed a research-based investigative practice that often deals with archives, specifically with the voids in public archives and collections, to examine the continuing presence of a colonial past.
“Art is storytelling. Through art we can tell our own stories, showcase the good that comes out of this beautiful continent, and ultimately change the narrative,” says Amaechi Okobi, chief communications officer for Access Corporation. “At Access Corporation, we are taking that responsibility quite seriously, because it is time we get the world to see Africa through a different lens. The Access Art X Prize shows that beautiful things do come out of Africa and just as importantly, it showcases and promotes the young Africans who are leading that charge. For me, that’s what Access Art X Prize is about: retelling the African story with breathtaking bursts of talent and creativity.”
New opportunities for emerging artists
Previous artists who have won the Access Art X Prize have gone on to have successful careers on the global stage. These include the 2019 winner, documentary photographer Etinosa Yvonne, who exhibited at the 12th Berlin Biennale, 2018 winner multimedia artist Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola, who was selected for a residency at Palais de Tokyo and the prestigious Venice Biennale College, and 2016 winner, multi- disciplinary artist Patrick Akpojotor.
Art X Lagos is an exciting event, especially for me because of how it's been able to connect people and bring together emerging artists as a way to project the arts from Africa and give hope to collectors and young artists to grow," says Akpojotor.
Since the beginning, Art X Lagos and the Access Art X Prize have had clear goals: to showcase African talent, to raise the profile of art from the continent and its diaspora, and to offer a platform for important conversation and collaboration.
“From when I founded and launched Art X Lagos, the vision was very clear. There were many things we wanted to achieve but one important one was to be a bridge between Nigeria, Africa, and the rest of the world, to be a space in which we could all come together, be celebrated with each other, learn from each other, and grow,” says Peterside-Schwebig.
