Lagos’ largest art fair is back in 2024 with its ninth edition, and the team held a press preview on Thursday 31st October, welcoming people of the press with excitement and warmth. Themed “Promised Lands,” this year’s edition of ART X features art from 10 galleries; five from Nigeria, and the remaining five from other countries across Africa. However, this year, the fair is just more than just a showcase of the brilliant artistic talent and potential on the continent. It’s a carefully curated experience, a call to action, and a delightful invitation to share ideas that spark conversation about who we want to be as a people and how we hold on to hope in challenging times, even as we strive to get there.
In her welcome note, founder and CEO, Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, shared that the theme “…is about taking our minds to a place of hope and possibility…inviting you on a journey with us to places real and imagined where we can actively seek out and hope to go in the hopes of greatly improving our situation.” Promised Lands delivers on that promise of opening one’s mind, with many moving parts of the fair coming together cohesively to create an unforgettable experience.
ART X curators and founder: Lanre Masha, Missla Libsekal, Jumoke Sanwo, Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, and Tega Okiti
In brief but impactful conversations with the curators working on these equally important parts of the fair, Peterside-Schwebig shared the team’s plans and vision for the ninth edition of ART X. Missla Libsekal, curator-at-large spoke about the “Markmakers” section, a part of the fair dedicated to unsung pioneers, like Samuel and Obadiah Johnson, people who did exceptional things in art and for their communities but seem to be forgotten. Speaker’s Corner, a part of the fair that invites participants and guests to sit and talk about ideas, was an important part of the work for Libsekal, who wants people to come away from the fair feeling like they were compelled, they had respite and were home. With the Schools’ Programme, ART X invites over 800 students from underserved communities across the state to interact with the fair and expand their perspectives.
Jumoke Sanwo, curator of the ART X prize, and the talent advancement program/development forum spoke about contributing their quota to building our local art ecosystem by creating the program for students studying art to interact with the fair, have access to opportunities in art and receive mentorship from successful artists in the continent. This year, the team has taken a retrospective approach to the ART X prize by inviting previous winners to share their journeys and how winning the prize impacted their work and life.
Art across borders, another segment of the story of “Promised Lands” taps into the idea of imagined promised lands: exploring the notion of borders and taking back ownership of objects that have been used to oppress and subjugate the African people. ART X Cinema, curated by Tega Okiti, which debuted at the fair in 2023, is a new exploration into the medium of film, and this year’s exhibition will feature work from diasporan artist Andrew Dosunmu. Lanre Masha, music curator of ART X Live, spoke about fusing the old with the new in a never-before-seen version of the concert. He speaks about the fusion of live music and digital music; old and the new, traditional and modern. We can expect to hear magic as Adewale Ayuba and Asake headline the concert this year. Alongside the Library, ART X Talks, a Kid’s corner where children are encouraged to create, and a touching tribute to the late Herbert Wigwe, the ninth edition of ART X is a delightful experience that inspires and refreshes.
For Peterside-Schwebig, the vision for ART X has shifted and expanded since it started back in 2016. Back then, the goal was to create a platform for the visual arts to cement its place in our society; one that celebrates the work of artists, and also shows that there’s value and a market here. Five years into the journey; that perspective expanded and became an avenue for deeper social discourse and to create broader perspectives. It’s important to ART X to play a role in shifting discourse, expanding our collective mindset and contributing to society. Now, nine years into the journey, ART X has become a leading voice in the ongoing discourse, proving the immense power of art and ideas that spark conversation and change. ART X is showing at the Balmoral Event Centre at the Federal Palace Hotel and is open to the public on November 2nd & 3rd.
