No one conjures the cosmopolitanism of contemporary Lagos better than Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. As she writes in We Should All Be Feminists, “Lagos is a metropolis of almost twenty million people, with more energy than London, more entrepreneurial spirit than New York, and so people come up with all sorts of ways to make a living.” It’s hardly a surprise, then, that Lagos is the location for West Africa’s first international art fair, and that its founder is an enterprising young Nigerian. Art X Lagos ran for the first time last year, and is the brainchild of businesswoman Tokini Peterside, who has been collecting art for a decade and realized there was a gap in the market for an event that could promote African artists on the continent in a commercial way, while bringing Nigeria closer to the international art circuit. Peterside’s hope is that this will encourage Nigerian artists to stay in Lagos in the long-term, while still being able to enjoy international success. Art X Lagos’s all-star line-up for 2017 includes Yinka Shonibare, Zanele Muholi and Njideka Akunyili Crosby (who will give a talk about her practice on Sunday 5 November).
Art X Lagos
From 3 to 5 November at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos
artxlagos.com
