Art Fair showcases over 200 artistes on global scale

SPANNING 10 days, the city of Lagos and Nigeria as a whole were held spellbound with the debut of a novel but enchanting addition to the yearly arts calendar, the +234 Arts Fair, an event that promoted the best of the best in Nigeria’s contemporary art scene.

The first of its kind, dedicated to everything arts and creativity, it kicked off on March 22 and ended on Sunday, March 31, and was held on the purpose-built 3,800-square-metre Ecobank Pan-African Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. The fair brought together over two hundred artists and thousands of art lovers under one roof, where almost a thousand artworks were on exquisite display, over 10 days.

Working with the theme, Nigeria: A New Heritage, the fair offered every artistic experience available; from paintings to sculpted works to photography, handcrafted materials and objects, a children’s art section, art-related activities like sip and paint and so on. Working with six curators, Eyimofe Ideh (fine art curation); Tracian Meikle (programmes); Ugochukwu Emebiriodo (Photography); Jojolola Dopamu (digital art curator) and Arinola Olowoporoku, (lead curator who also doubled as lead for the sculpture exhibits), they brought the vision of the fair to life.

Boasting not just beautiful artworks alone, the fair also had a series of art-related workshops, masterclasses, and panel discussions, featuring the best minds in the art and creative scene. With a vibrant mix of emerging artists drawn from all over the country, art lovers and attendees were not left disappointed with the quality and quantity of works on display. Many were eager for more and wished the fair would be extended.

Curated by Soto Gallery, in partnership with Ecobank Nigeria, Leadway Insurance, and the African Finance Corporation (AFC), the fair was put together to showcase and nurture young talents as well as create new vistas of opportunities for them.

Founder, Soto Gallery and founder of the +234 Art Fair, Tola Akerele, said the opportunity to showcase more artists is always a welcome one and the partnership with Ecobank made this possible. Speaking on continuity for the artists, she said they are in talks with them on what more galleries can do to make this possible, including residency programmes and grants.

“Apart from just showcasing art, this was an opportunity to help them know what else they can do locally, regionally, and internationally. A lot of artists we have worked with in the past now have strong international careers and this gives us joy.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Project Director of the fair, Toyin Laoshe, said the artists were selected fairly from across Nigeria. “They were then pruned to about 200 artists from different sectors, fine art, sculpture, photography, and digital art. We want to see these artists become the future guiding lights of the art world, locally and internationally. We thank our sponsors, who helped in bringing this together together and helped bring this vision to life.”

Saturday, March 23, saw keynote speaker, Florence Lynch, taking a filled audience on ‘The art of collecting’. Lynch is a New York-based art dealer a senior director at Marc Straus Gallery and a professor at Columbia University. Other speakers included Alain Ngann a photographer and artist; Kelechi Amadi-Obi; Oluwatoyin Sogbesan; Jess Castellote, the Director of the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art and many more.

The masterclasses took on relevant and practical subject matters such as African Art in the Global Art Market, The Business of Photography, Bridging Time: Connecting Heritage and Modernity in Nigerian Art, How to Navigate the International Art Scene as a Local Artist, Artistic Research, Grant Writing, Navigating Biennales and Museums in Contemporary Art and so on.

Lead curator of the fair, Arinola Olowoporoku, said the whole event was for emerging ideas, about and for Nigerian artists and Nigerians; “and even for tenured artists trying out new ideas or narratives, everyone was welcome. There were multiple offerings for different demographics, including a children’s gallery, life painting, interactive works, live performances, and authors. There was something for everyone,” she stressed.

She added that the reward for many artists was the fact that the fair was held on a huge scale and exhibiting on such a platform could grow their career significantly. “As a collective, exhibiting here increases the economic value of their works and our market, as well as create visibility and awareness for the artists.”

On how the artistes were selected, the lead curator said there was an open call and selections were made. “I worked with six curators and we picked them with our theme in mind. The fair’s founder, Tola Akerele, is a brilliant and fantastic woman and she keeps taking bold leaps. This has been a humbling and learning process for us and we are thankful to all our sponsors, especially Ecobank, who deemed the arts worthy of such a massive investment.”

On continuity and longevity for the artists, Olowoporoku said Soto Gallery has over time, consistently developed and supported artists and the fair provided a window into the big world that would be built upon.

Ephraim Damilola “ED” Adegoke, an exhibiting artist who said his art is figurative expressionism, said the art form allows him to put together many forms of art and express himself in different ways. “I am happy with the turnout and how the works were arranged, people positively and actively engaged with the artworks; it is clear the essence of the fair was realised,” he said.

Ugo Ahiakwo, a sculptor who exhibited at the fair, described his art as post-minimal and said his inspiration comes from everyday living and seemingly mundane things.     “Beyond making sales, it was wonderful to connect with other sculptors. When people think of art in Nigeria, they only think of painting. Sculptors are often overlooked and this fair provided the opportunity to meet more sculptors and expose our works to collectors,” he said.

Olowoporoku said beyond this fair, they intend to expose the artists to more exhibitions. “We are hoping to have more editions like this in the future as well as other new showcases to accommodate more emerging artists,” she said.

Akerele also added that with the fair, they are also trying to create an ecosystem where patrons can support an artist through the course of their career. “The government can support us by creating more fairs across the country for artists all over the country. This is a much-needed platform for artists. Some so many artists have no access to international markets and we want to create a sort of database of artists, whose work can stand in international galleries.”

She said they intend to do bigger things in the coming years and expose more of Nigeria’s creativity to the world.

ALSO READ: Gunmen abduct Channels TV reporter in Rivers