Aerial view of the pavilions of the Lagos Biennial in February 2024. The 2024 edition of the Lagos Biennial, which took place from February 3 to 10 in Nigeria, attests to the resilience that art offers in a time marked by wars, social injustices, and economic upheavals. Curated jointly by Folakunle Oshun and Kathryn Weir, this biennial, symbolically located in Tafawa Balewa Square, reclaimed a space formerly dedicated to Nigeria's independence celebrations and also the venue for the memorable FESTAC '77, the second edition of the World Festival of Black African Arts and Cultures. Choosing a location steeped in its historical context allowed the biennial to delve into a reflection on our shared histories to better envision a future open to knowledge and reconciliation.
Interweaving political claims. Going beyond conventional notions of art as an object, directed by the artists themselves, the biennial favored process-driven approaches, exploring themes such as architecture and urban transformation, digital surveillance, and the construction of postcolonial nations. Through lectures, screenings, performances, and various interventions – from architectural pavilions to immersive installations – the event stimulated a genuine sense of belonging in a space conducive to the creation of new realities. Among these interventions, KJ Abudu's "Traces of Ecstasy" connected indigenous African thought, queer perspectives, and new technologies. This impromptu pavilion brought together artists Nolan Oswald Dennis, Evan Ifekoya, Raymond Pinto, Temitayo Shonibare, and Adeju Thompson/Lagos Space Program to address political and racial tensions, sexuality, diasporic experience, and Yoruba culture. Drawing inspiration from the Afro-Asian Writers Conferences (AAWC), held from 1958 to 1979, the biennial also featured a pavilion titled "Albanian Conference," examining issues of public corruption, cyber-surveillance, and sexism in Nigeria. This event was a model of cultural collaboration, intertwining political claims from diverse locations worldwide to amplify all marginalized voices. The architectural structure designed by Endrit Marku also showcased video clips from the DNA group (Blair and Clinton Opara).
Against cultural homogenization, the Lagos Biennial represented a collective effort of solidarity and resistance. In this context, Em'kal Eyongakpa unveiled an immersive multisensory installation, composed of egg cartons and animated with a series of kinetic sculptures and live-activated soundscapes. The cave-like installation evoked notions of displacement and resistance of populations, with the refugee camps in the Nigerian state of Cross River as a backdrop. Simultaneously, the collaborative textile installation by Martinka Bobrikova, Oscar de Carmen, María Alejandra Gatti, Adebola Badmus and Anto Lloveras questioned the management of waste related to the garment industry. Emphasizing the interconnectedness of global economies and environmental concerns, this collective piece was produced with second-hand textiles from the Katangwa market in Lagos. The installation took the form of a tent set up at the gates of Tafawa Balewa Square, inviting visitors to participate in its creation.
Culture of experimentation. The Lagos Biennial also engaged the public in reflecting on how art can activate public spaces through off-site projects and commissioned works questioning religion or spirituality. Victor Ehikhamenor's multimedia installation, "Miracle Central," allowed the reimagining of the main site of the biennial as a liminal space where the spiritual and the mundane coexist. An installation that played on the versatile nature of the biennial space, which was both a site of revolutions during major national events and a space for the supernatural during Pentecostal evangelical music gatherings. Beyond Tafawa Balewa Square, Uthman Wahaab transformed the gallery of the National Museum of Nigeria into a protean space for healing and meditation. The project, a result of long-term observation of Sufi practice in the artist's family, is an artistic interpretation of the Islamic concept of khalwa (inner retreat).
As we navigate the complexities of the time, the 2024 Lagos Biennial reaffirmed the role of art and creativity as catalysts for essential social change, vital to the formation of a new collective identity. The event fully embodies the aspirations of a changing and interconnected world, as artists of this generation envision the future. In this spirit, the words of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in his foreword for FESTAC '77 come to mind: "Culture remains one of the most important avenues to reason and the meaningful evolution of a nation. It has repeatedly proven to be a means of strengthening friendship and understanding among peoples. Nigeria believes in the moderating and redemptive qualities of culture to soothe, through exchange, global tensions."
Despite a one-year interruption, the importance of the biennial remains paramount as the event not only strengthens the influence of the Lagos metropolis but also encourages a culture of experimentation and creative freedom within the local artistic community. By bringing together artists, researchers, scholars, and international audiences, it raises a fundamental question: how to encourage individuals to see themselves as authors of tomorrow's narrative?
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