Posted on Nov 18, 2023
Africa's flourishing art scene is a smash hit at Art X
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https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/11/18/ [login to see] /africas-flourishing-art-scene-is-a-smash-hit-at-art-x
"I wanted to create a moment for Lagos on the global art calendar," says Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, the founder of Art X, sitting in a chic private booth within the fair. "A moment that brought the rest of Africa together here and enabled us on home soil to encounter those around the world and ourselves."
From the hot blaze of a November day in Nigeria's most populous city, thousands of people pour into the cool shade of Art X, the eighth edition of the largest art fair in West Africa: Visitors from around the world and the local art scene, a runway of celebrities and the effortlessly glamorous Lagos middle-class, all make their way through a maze-like sprawl of paintings, prints, sculptures and moving image installations.
"I wanted to create a moment for Lagos on the global art calendar," says Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, the founder of Art X, sitting in a chic private booth within the fair. "A moment that brought the rest of Africa together here and enabled us on home soil to encounter those around the world and ourselves."
From the hot blaze of a November day in Nigeria's most populous city, thousands of people pour into the cool shade of Art X, the eighth edition of the largest art fair in West Africa: Visitors from around the world and the local art scene, a runway of celebrities and the effortlessly glamorous Lagos middle-class, all make their way through a maze-like sprawl of paintings, prints, sculptures and moving image installations.
Africa's flourishing art scene is a smash hit at Art X
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Art
Africa
Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""This sweet young woman kept harassing me from London," Vaughn-Richards laughs, explaining how Folawiyo convinced her to open her home for the exhibition. "Stalking me and harassing me nicely. And at the end of the day I thought, 'you know what, let me just try it.'" A stream of guests enter the compound and are guided into a smaller building near the gate, before exploring the grounds.
While local collectors have grown, with art works increasingly visible in businesses across Lagos, foreign collectors have largely driven the boom in Nigeria's art industry. A common discussion point during art month has been how to build local and sustainable growth, and not be beholden to foreign shifts. It's a challenge many are reflecting on, and meeting head on.
"For us, Africa is not a trend," Peterside-Schwebig says. "Africa is an important and pivotal voice in the mainstream. And so for us, this is about a sustainable future and longevity."
Correction
Nov. 18, 2023
An earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of Bruce Onobrakpeya as Onagwapia."
...""This sweet young woman kept harassing me from London," Vaughn-Richards laughs, explaining how Folawiyo convinced her to open her home for the exhibition. "Stalking me and harassing me nicely. And at the end of the day I thought, 'you know what, let me just try it.'" A stream of guests enter the compound and are guided into a smaller building near the gate, before exploring the grounds.
While local collectors have grown, with art works increasingly visible in businesses across Lagos, foreign collectors have largely driven the boom in Nigeria's art industry. A common discussion point during art month has been how to build local and sustainable growth, and not be beholden to foreign shifts. It's a challenge many are reflecting on, and meeting head on.
"For us, Africa is not a trend," Peterside-Schwebig says. "Africa is an important and pivotal voice in the mainstream. And so for us, this is about a sustainable future and longevity."
Correction
Nov. 18, 2023
An earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of Bruce Onobrakpeya as Onagwapia."
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