No fewer than thirty five photographers from eighteen countries
will be participating in the sixth edition of LagosPhoto Festival. The annual event
entitled Designing
Futures
will open
on Tuesday, October 24 and ends on Friday, November 27, 2015 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria
Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
The one month
programme will include exhibitions, workshops, artist presentations,
discussions, screening, and large scale outdoor installations in congested
public spaces in Lagos.
According
to the organisers (LagosPhoto Foundation), the event aims at providing a
platform for the development and education of contemporary photography in
Africa by establishing mentorships and cross-cultural collaborations with local
and international artists. LagosPhoto presents photography as it is embodied in
the exploration of historical and contemporary issues, the promotion of social programmes,
and the reclaiming of public spaces.
The organisers
said this year’s theme and conversation of interest is intended to explore
contemporary dialogues surrounding design in Africa. In a continent whose
design history includes the Benin Bronzes, Adinkra, and some of the oldest
writing systems known to man, deference to these feats are acknowledged in the
rich and sometimes frugally chic designs we see today. “Photographers from across the continent and
beyond display deft but also awareness of the cultural
and socio-political landscape that influence
daily life, and in turn communicate that awareness through the images they
create.”
LagosPhoto
is the first and only international arts festival of photography in Nigeria.
Looking at both the literal definition of design, and a more
philosophical one, the Curator, Cristina De Middel in a press statement stressed
that “Making a plan is designing your future, crossing your fingers, praying… a pony tail, a choreography, the shape of
countries like Mali.” By questioning our concept of creative design and day to
day design and blurring the line between the two, the exhibition presents
photography that forces the viewer to reconsider and even reconcile what design
is, has become, and will be in the future.
The
Satellite exhibition venues in arts and cultural spaces throughout the city
extend to Omenka Gallery, Africans Artists’ Foundation, Stranger Lagos,
Goethe-Institut, White Space, Yaba Tech, and Quintessence. Outdoor exhibitions
in public spaces in Lagos include Muri Okunola Park, Falomo Roundabout (Ikoyi),
Beko Ransome Kuti Park (Antony), Awojobi Park (Onike), Freedom Park, MKO Abiola
Park (Ikeja), and Dolphin Park (Ikoyi).
The participating photographers
are: Owise Abuzaid (Egypt) François Beaurain (France) Andile Buka (South
Africa) Joana Choumali (Ivory Coast) Omar Victor Diop and
Antoine Tempé (Senegal & France/USA) Daniel Donnelly (UK) Kadara Enyeasi (Nigeria) Delphine Gatinois (France) Robin Hammond (New Zealand) Navin Kala (India) Andrea Gisele Keyezua (Netherlands) Ben Krewinkel (Netherlands) Francois Knoetze (South Africa) Namsa Leuba (Switzerland/Guinea) Robin Maddock & Benedicte Kurzen (UK & France) Renzo Martens (Netherlands) Ima Mfon (Nigeria) Fabrice Monteiro (Senegal) Nobukho Nqaba (South
Africa) Zohra Opoku (Ghana/Germany) James Ostrer (UK) Gloria Oyarzabal (Spain) Vicente Paredes (Spain) Max Pinckers & Michiel Burger (Belgium & e Netherlands) Émilie Réigner (France/Canada) Chris Saunders (South
Africa) Mehdi Sefrioui (Morocco) Patrick Selemani (Democratic
Republic of Congo) Alice Smeets (Belgium) Romaric Tisserand (France) William Ukoh (Nigeria) and Patrick Willocq (France).
LagosPhoto
is proudly sponsored by the Eko Hotel & Suites and Etisalat, with partners
World Press Photo. Supporters include LIRS, LASAA, LASPARK, Lagos State
Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Luhansa,
Romarong, Pixers, Pernod Ricard Nigeria, Universal Furniture, Goethe Institut,
France 24. Media sponsors; Hello Nigeria!, Ovation Magazine, Cool FM, Cool TV
and 54artistry. LagosPhoto is additionally supported by the Ford Foundation.
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