Art X raises bar of art interrogation, ends today

Art X Lagos, West Africa’s premier international art fair, designed to showcase the best and most innovative contemporary and modern art from the African continent and its Diaspora, continues today.

The opening, which held on Friday, November 1, 2019, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, attracted a host of dignitaries including the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; founder, Stanbic IBTC PLC, Mr. Atedo Peterside; Group Managing Director, Access Bank PLC, Mr. Herbert Wigwe; Founder/CEO, Nike Art Foundation, Chief (Mrs) Nike Okundaye; and Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Olufunke Adebolu.

Launched in 2016, the art fair has since become a cornerstone of the Lagos art calendar, drawing local patrons and a host of international collectors, curators, and critics annually.

Since its debut, ART X Lagos has welcomed over 22,000 visitors to see the works of Africa’s leading established and emerging artists, including representatives of institutions such as, the Tate Modern, Zeitz MOCAA, the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian, the Art Institute of Chicago and Centre Pompidou. These attendees and the satellite exhibitions that have emerged in response to the fair are undoubtedly indicators of Lagos’ position as a fast-emerging and exciting cultural hub. This year, 93 artists from over 24 countries are participating.

In 2016, the fair launched the ART X Prize, to support emerging talent and to contribute to the burgeoning contemporary art sector in Nigeria. This year, it was renamed as the Access Bank ART X Prize.

The Prize provides funding and mentoring support for compelling projects by emerging artists with the potential to propel them beyond the threshold of the local art sector and onto the international stage, as well as an international residency. Documentary photographer Etinosa Yvonne emerged as the winner of the 2019 Edition of the Prize.According to the organisers, the fair, which ends today, will continue to deliver exciting programmes, as well as specially curated projects, talks and live events, to its broad audience of collectors, connoisseurs, cultural practitioners and art lovers.