The largest art fair in West Africa attracts artists and curators to capitalize on the success of African art in the region and beyond.
ARI SHAPIRO, Host:
It’s Art Month in Lagos. Artists, galleries and visitors from all over the world have descended on Nigeria’s bustling commercial capital. In recent years, Lagos has emerged as an emerging art center from the continent, and the prominence of African artists in the global art industry has been a major success story, as NPR’s Emmanuel Akinwotu reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “DISEASE”)
PRINCE NICO MBARGA: (Singing) I say (singing in non-English language)…
EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE: Thousands flow through a wall of music and pour into the cool hue of ART X, the eighth edition of West Africa’s largest art fair. It’s the biggest part of Lagos’ art month, an unofficial calendar of exhibitions, events, parties and after-parties dotted around affluent parts of the city, attracting people from across the region and the world.
TOKINI PETERSIDE-SCHWEBIG: I wanted to create a moment for Lagos in the global art calendar, a moment that brought the rest of Africa together here and enabled us on the ground to meet people around the world.
AKINWOTU: Tokini Peterside-Schwebig founded ART X in 2016, overcoming several challenges during a recession to create the first of its kind in Nigeria.
PETERSIDE-SCHWEBIG: Honestly, it took off like a rocket. And in the early years, we are very decisive in the appearance of the artistic season that has now sprung up around the fair.
AKINWOTU: The fair is a magnet, attracting celebrities, the effortlessly flamboyant Lagos middle class and an emerging generation of artists, curators and galleries.
PETERSIDE-SCHWEBIG: It has become very much a place where the community gathers, where important questions are asked, which is especially important at a time like this where Nigeria and African countries are facing some pretty extreme challenges.
AKINWOTU: ART X is a snapshot of how Nigeria’s largely female-led art industry has flourished in the face of adversity. Visitors make their way through a series of paintings, prints, moving image installations and sculptures. This year, the theme is The Dialogue, with panels and talks organized in part in response to tough economic times for the industry.
WUNIKA MUKAN: Right now I’m showing one of the artists we represent. Her name is Adulphina Imuede.
AKINWOTU: Wunika Mukan established her self-titled gallery three years ago and quickly gained traction in Lagos. The last decade has seen a boom period with relatively quick success for a number of artists and galleries. A key driver was the growing demand from Western galleries for black portraits from the continent.
MUKAN: Nigerian artists have always been in the room from Ben Enwonwu to Nengi Omuku and then Bruce Onobrakpeya. In the last three or four years, there has been this insatiable appetite for portraits of Black West Africans. Many new artists began to appear.
AKINWOTU: Mukan said a reckoning in the art world after the killing of George Floyd has led to efforts to exhibit a greater variety of artists and greater representation of black figures. But overseas demand for the species has slowed this year.
MUKAN: So there was a wild wild west for a few years, and I think things are calming down.
AKINWOTU: But Wunika says the more demanding climate for artists and galleries is also an opportunity.
MUKAN: I think the black portrait phase brought a lot of attention, which is good. It’s still here, so it’s time for us to show more and, yes, be more flexible.
(SOUND OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: And I want to fill that in.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Praise the Lord.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Hallelujah.
AKINWOTU: In one corner of the exhibition, visitors enjoy the soundscape of a church service in a diverse exhibition by Dafe Oboro filled with collages, portraits and visual and audio installation. Seju Alero Mike is a visiting curator at ART X and says this year’s exhibition was one of the best she has experienced.
SEJU ALERO MIKE: I think the work that artists have presented this year is amazing. The exposure has definitely decreased. It is smaller. It’s more intimate and you can really focus on the topics you want to express.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “DISEASE”)
BARGA: (Singing in a non-English language).
AKINWOTU: ART X founder Tokini Peterside-Schwebig is optimistic about the future of Africa’s art scene. Local demand in Nigeria has started and international buyers have come calling. However, there remains ongoing and growing interest around the world and much to tap into.
PETERSIDE-SCHWEBIG: For us, Africa is on a trend. Africa is an important and pivotal voice in the mainstream. And so for us, it’s about a sustainable future, longevity.
AKINWOTU: Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR News, Lagos.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “DISEASE”)
BARGA: (Singing) The world didn’t go anywhere low, it wasn’t anything over the top (ph), (singing in non-English language)…
Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Please visit our website’s terms of use and license pages at www.npr.org for more information.
NPR transcripts are created on a deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The valid recording of NPR programming is the audio recording.