The Lagos Biennale is one of the most important art festivals in the world, playing a major role in promoting artistic innovation and celebrating the continent’s cultural heritage. This year, the art fair returns for its 4th edition, once again showcasing the artistic creativity of contemporary players. Under the theme “REFUGE“, the Lagos Biennial will be held from February 3 to February 10, 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square, in the heart of the Nigerian city, an emblematic venue for celebrating contemporary African art in an unprecedented way.
The site was chosen in honor of the former Nigerian minister and because of its rich history, having once been a place of entertainment in colonial times, as well as the scene of cultural, political and commercial events after independence. The aim is to interrogate this symbolic place on its potential meanings in relation to political allegiance, territory, sovereignty, regionality, notions of belonging, encounter and alliance.
Going beyond the simple framework of an exhibition or fair, the Lagos Biennale 2024 takes on an experimental dimension by exploring unconventional modes of exhibition making, moving from the idea of the work as an end in itself, to generative models and prototypes that continue to explore possibilities around the world.
The biennial explores the theme of the nation-state by taking a critical look at the exhibition site, Tafawa Balewa, the site of Nigerian independence celebrations in 1960, and also a key venue for the FESTAC ’77 Black Arts and Culture Festival, which hosted the concert by the celebrated musician and activist Miriam Makeba.
FESTAC‘s important legacy can be seen in its vision of conceiving a global project celebrating and promoting the African cultures of the continent and its diasporas. Another significant point of reference is the 6th Pan-African Congress of 1974 in Dar es Salaam, the very first of the series to be held on the African continent. In a creative artistic approach, how can we reimagine this cultural heritage in Lagos fifty years on?
The artists participating in this new edition of the Lagos Biennial 2024 explore, through their art, how to create an operational notion of refuge that can suggest alternative paths towards building renewable communities and act in favor of climate justice in this historic period of systemic crisis.
This 4th edition offers an opportunity to re-examine the promises, disappointments and current subdivisions of the nation-state model, as well as a wide selection of modes of governance under the influence of global capital. The current century is fraught with critical issues, mainly in local, national and regional spaces, with profound effects on our lives and in the present, intrinsically linked to decisions taken individually at the level of the individual or the community.
The Lagos Biennale 2024, positions the city as a global geopolitical hotspot and international hub of artistic expression, initiating a conjectural space for the elaboration of optional realities.
Organization of the Lagos Biennale 2024
The Lagos Biennale 2024 is organized under the direction of artistic directors Kathryn Weir and Folakunle Oshun. It will feature works by 80 participants from 30 countries, all responding to the theme of the art fair through architectural pavilions, artist talks, art installations, film screenings and performances. The Biennale will be organized according to the following schedule:
- REFUGE Teams: this part of the festival will feature a series of independent collaborative platforms responding in various ways to the “REFUGE” theme, created by the teams who took part in the 3rd online edition of the biennial in 2021.
- Gregarious architectures: this section features special projects and existing works by artists addressing the “REFUGE” theme, the Tafawa Balewa Square site and notions of informality in the construction of new community architectures.
- CAPTCHA: this axis of the Lagos Biennale 2024 is an exhibition project curated by Egyptian art historian, curator and educator Sarah Rifky and Lagos Biennale co-artistic director Kathryn Weir. The presentation questions regimes of perception and strategies of refuge from the public gaze.
- Worldmade Communities: finally, the Biennale organizes a gathering for participants with an interest in cultural infrastructure, with the aim of strengthening capacities and agreements across Africa and beyond. This collaborative program is organized by Sarah Rifky and Kathryn Weir with the participation of Romi Crawford and the New Art School Modality.
The Lagos Biennale 2024 promises to be an enriching event, ready to capture the global gaze through architectural pavilions, art installations, performances and conferences. With its exploration of regimes of perception, strategies of refuge and cultural connections, this event, initiated by the Akete Art Foundation, offers a dynamic platform for celebrating cultural heritage and artistic innovation.
It is made possible by the support and partnerships of numerous institutions and foundations, including Guest Artist Space GAS Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, Open Society Foundations, ProHelvetia Swiss Arts Council, French Institute Nigeria, Goethe Institut Nigeria, French Alliance of Mike Adenuga Center, Lagos Friends Biennial, St. Nicholas Hospital and ko artspace, Royal Air Maroc and the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
