EXHIBITIONS
EXHIBITIONS
EXHIBITIONS
Current Residents
Spring Session: April 29-July 26, 2019
Kris Russo
Kris Russo is an American artist who works in installation and mixed media. Her work explores questions of identity and historical memory, focusing on the convergence of religion, technology and the environment in relation to the experience of dis/re-enchantment. Russo’s residency project examines our relationship with plastics by creating an immersive installation with sculptures, collages and light boxes. Russo has recently participated in the Dak’Art Biennale as the children’s curator and created a site-specific installation for the Lagos Biennial in 2017.
Jess Atieno (May 6-June 10, 2019)
Jess Atieno is a Nairobi-based visual artist who explores the performativity of human interactions as it plays out in physical, virtual and psychological spaces. Atieno often utilizes the image of the body in layers of found images and text. Much of her recent work explores the space between memory and fantasy, reflecting on the imagined space as a third dimension that engages social concerns of power, collective history and personal narratives. She builds up layers of images transfers, text and sometimes paint and ink, to convey a layering of compression, time and narrative. Jess Atieno's residency is part of a partnership with the Lagos Biennial. Her project will be exhibited in the Lagos Biennial later this year.
Past Residents
Diana Ejaita
Diana Ejaita is a Nigerian/Italian artist based in Berlin who works in illustration and textile design. During her residency, Diana Ejaita will incorporate painting and silkscreen to explore the legacy of Nigerian author Amos Tutuola. Inspired by the author’s stream of consciousness style and narrative patterns, Diana will explore the conversation between texts, images and objects. She will also develop a short film based on Tutuola’s celebrated book, The Palm Wine Drinkard, questioning the roles given to women in his narratives. In 2017, Diana Ejaita completed an artist residency at Waaw in St. Louis, Senegal.
.jpg)
Wilfred Ukpong
Wilfred Ukpong is a a Nigerian artist based in Oxford, UK, who works in photography, film, sculpture, installation and performance. Since 2011, he has developed a long term project in the Niger Delta that explores environmental concerns through a fictional and futuristic lens. In Lagos, Wilfred will create another chapter in his ten-part Blazing Century project, which is set within geographical locations embroiled in social and environmental devastation. His project will deal with the contextual issues facing Makoko, the floating community located on the coast of the Lagos mainland, which is under constant threat of eviction and demolition.
Ngozi Schommers
Ngozi Schommers is a Nigerian artist who addresses issues of migration, politics, religion and gender. Her work focuses on experiences of women from Africa, interweaving with her own family history. Recent projects have included her collages made with confetti and charcoal drawings and installations. Schommers' project in Lagos examines contemporary female identity in Nigeria, exploring notions of womanhood, motherhood and stigmatism in modern spaces. Her project will look at roles within social and cultural systems, such as sexuality, social behaviors and domestic roles, and how social stigmas interfere with personal choices and career. Schommers graduated from Yaba College of Technology. Her work has been recently exhibited in a group exhibition at the Kunstalle Bremmen in Germany.
Goethe Institut: Unsustainable Privileges
Folllowing our residency exchange programme with the Matadero Museum in Madrid in 2017, the Arthouse Foundation is pleased to partner with the Goethe Institut to offer a residency exchange programme between Berlin and Lagos artists in 2018. As part of this residency exchange, two German artists will be invited to Lagos for a residency in five week sessions, as well as a Nigerian artist to Berlin, under the theme "Unsustainable Privileges":
Jumoke Adeyanju, Natalia Orendain del Castillo and Ojudun Taiwo Jacob.
Jumoke Adeyanju
Jumoke Adeyanju's project explores hybrid identities of the Diaspora, incorporating interviews, multimedia and panel discussions that document the artistic and creative community in Lagos. She is interested in how various elements of expressive art forms interrelate and incorporate the potential to (re-)create moments of reviving other or rather lost selves. Raised in Aachen, Germany, Jumoke studied Area Studies Asia/Africa at the Humboldt University of Berlin, and is now pursuing a Master Degree in South-and Southeast Asia Studies. Prior to her academic journey, Jumoke dived into Hip Hop culture as a young dancer. In 2012, Jumoke organized the first Break Dance Battle of Zanzibar. She recently joined the newly founded “blackism collective”, a multidisciplinary movement artists collective. They premiered their first piece “(self-)vations” at SAVVY contemporary in March 2018. Next to dance and academia, Jumoke has successfully evolved as a host of multiple cultural events and as a multilingual poet, performing her poems in English, German, Kiswahili and Yorùbá. Jumoke is the founder of “The Poetry Meets Series” and co-director of “Ujamaa Culture Center e.V”, a community center for African-diasporic people, momentarily facilitating exhibitions/installations, african language courses (Twi) and film screenings.
Natalia Orendain del Castillo
Natalia Orendain del Castillo will explore issues surrounding the port of Lagos, focusing on the subjects of space and perception through an immersive and participatory format. A Mexican-born visual artist and scenographer, Natalia began her studies in visual arts specializing in sculpture. With an ongoing interest in performative arts, she continued her studies in the Kunsthochschule in Berlin Weissensee as a stage and costume designer. Since 2012, she has participated in several forms of experimental, documentary and music theatre productions in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Prague, Norway and Mexico. Her artistic research focuses on the subjects of space perception and production, sound as creator of space and the performativity within the everyday; making use of immersive, installative and participatory formats to explore the audience´s experience.
Ojudun Taiwo Jacob
Ojudun Taiwo Jacob's project in Berlin will examine social and political dynamics in Germany through choreography and performance.
Jacob is a multimedia performance artist from Lagos. He lives and works as a performer, chorographer and curator in the Bariga district on the mainland of Lagos. In 2012 he founded the Illuminate Theater Lagos, whose artistic director he has been since. He received his choreographic and artistic / conceptual training through his many years of collaboration in the Crown Troupe of Africa in Bariga / Lagos.
Oathman Native Maqari
Born in Zaria, Nigeria in based in Paris, France, Oathman (Native) Maqari is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans video, installation, performance, painting and drawing. His recent projects have united performance and video to create in situ videos, with live performances at the Villa Medici in Rome, Palazzo Lenzi in Florence and Maison des Arts in Paris in 2017. Maqari’s project in Lagos centers around the historical, economic and sociopolitical significance of the indigo pigment in Northern Nigeria, particularly in Kano and Zaria. Maqari has completed artists residencies at the Jannat El Arif Foundation in Algeria, La Maska Foundation in Geres, France, and Villa Medici in Rome.
Mukhtara Yusuf
Mukhtara Yusuf is a Nigerian artist living in the United States, who works in social sculpture and installation. Her work explores topics surrounding African identity, selfhood, political injustice, personal trauma and healing. Her work often uses found materials to engage cultural history and relay narrative. Mukhtara received an MA in Communications, Culture, Media from the University of California, San Diego and a BA from Dartmouth College.
Ines Valle
Ines Valle is a Portuguese/Angolan artist, curator and researcher who focuses on issues of memory, colonization and architecture that spark transcultural narratives. Valle’s project in Lagos looks at architecture in Lago’s Brazilian Quarters, incorporating video, photography and sound. Beginning the project in 2014 in Nigeria, the project connects architectural heritage with personal stories, sharing the stages, smells, and colors from these transatlantic narratives. Valle is currently obtaining her MA in Postcolonial Culture at Goldsmiths, University of London. She holds a BA in Visual Arts and an MA in Curatorial Studies from the University of Lisbon.
Kitso Lynn Lelliot
Kitso Lynn Lelliott is an artist from Botswana living in South Africa who explores articulations from spaces beyond epistemic power, often times working in site-specific installations. Her work has engaged socio-cultural formations that took shape over the Atlantic during the African slave trade. Lelliott’s project in Lagos will use video to experiment with the idea of traces. Lelliott is currently finishing her PhD at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She has completed artist residencies at Asiko Art School (Senegal), Saint Louis (Senegal), the University of Bayreuth (Germany) and Sacatar Foundation (Brazil). Lelliott was a laureate of the French Institut 2015 Visas pour la création grant and exhibited in Bamako Encounters 2015.
Jimmy Nwanne
(Nigeria, b. 1989)
Jimmy Nwanne juxtaposes seemingly disparate visual references in his paintings that are placed together to form implied narrative associations. Combining elements of abstraction and realism, Nwanne creates unusual textures and colour combinations that speak to the social and political issues of a globalised world. Born in Kaduna, Nigeria in 1989, Jimmy Nwanne studied Fine Art at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, with a major in painting. Nwanne lives and works in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Gloria Oyarzabal Lodge
(London, b. 1971)
Gloria Oyarzabal Lodge is a Spanish artist and photographer who diversifies her professional activity between photography, cinema and teaching. Lodge is the Programmer and Co-Founder of Independent Cinema "La Enana Marrón" in Madrid (1999-2009), dedicated to the diffusion of author, experimental and alternative cinema. After receiving her Bachelors Degree in Fine Art (UCM) and her Masters Degree at the Blankpaper School of Photography, Lodge lived and worked in Mali for three years. Lodge's residency is part of the Arthouse Foundation exchange programme with the Matadero Museum, Madrid, and is supported by the Embassy of Spain.
Christian Newby
(USA, b. 1979)
Christian Newby is an American artist who works between London and Madrid. His mixed media work incorporates textiles, drawing and ceramics. Newby's project in Lagos will consider the techniques and materials of traditional crafts in relation to material culture at large. He received his B.A. in Sculpture and Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002 and then an M.F.A. at the Glasgow School of Art in 2009. Newby's residency is part of the Arthouse Foundation exchange programme with the Matadero Museum, Madrid, and is supported by the Embassy of Spain.
Thierry Oussou (Benin, b. 1988) is a visual artist and recent resident at Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. After assisting with artists Ernesto Houngbo, Meschac Gaba, and Barthélémy Toguo, he created his own art studio, Yé, in Benin. He has received multiple awards for his work, including the first Jacqueline van Tongeren Fellowship 2016 at Rijksakademie and was nominated by the Dutch Royal Award for Modern painting at the Amsterdam Royal Palace in 2016. He has participated in recent exhibitions at Stevenson Gallery (Cape Town) and Belenzhino (Sao Paulo).
Kadara Enyeasi (Nigeria, b. 1994) is a self-trained fine art photographer from Lagos, Nigeria.With a background in architecture, his photographic projects explore the relationship between the individual and the urban environment. Enyeasi’s work is influenced by fashion and design, combining his commercial work with personal projects. Enyeasi graduated from the University of Lagos with a major in architecture. In 2016, he was a finalist for the National Art Competition. He has recently been listed on Nataal’s “Ones to Watch 2017” list. Kadara is also a curator at the African Artists’ Foundation and the director of the multidisciplinary fine art studio, STUDIO ENYEASI. Enyeasi lives and works in Lagos.
Francois Beaurain (France, b. 1976) is a multidisciplinary artist working across photography, drawing, collage and sculpture. His recent projects explore Nigerian movie posters that he has been collecting for years and uses as raw material for collages. He also played a pioneering role by realizing lively and playful animated GIFs in Liberia and Nigeria. Beaurain studied physics and holds a PhD in Biology. He currently works as a climate change specialist in parallel to his artistic activities. Beaurain is based between Paris and Rabat, Morocco.
Nengi Omuku (Nigeria, b. 1987) is a painter who features dark, amorphous and human presences that float through active spaces. Her work functions as a metaphor alluding to wider themes of difference and mutual belonging. Omuku completed an MA and BA in Fine Art at the Slade School of Fine Art. Recent exhibitions include the Armory Show, Focus: African Perspectives (New York), A State of Mind, Omenka Gallery (Lagos), and the Jerwood Drawing Prize Exhibition, Jerwood Gallery (London). She is the recipient of several awards, including the British Council CHOGM Art Award presented by HRH Queen Elisabeth II.
Jelili Atiku (b. 1968) is a performance and multi-media artist who examines political concerns for human rights and justice. Through drawing, installation, sculpture, photography, video and performance art, Atiku comments on the psychological and emotional effects of traumatic events including violence, war, poverty, corruption and climate change. A graduate of University of Lagos and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Atiku was the recipient of the prestigious Prince Claus Award in 2015.
Tyna Adebowale (b. 1982) is a mixed media artist who utilises texts, pigments and found materials to explore issues of gender, sexuality and identity. Her work comments on topics spanning Nigeria’s dysfunctional political landscape and the impact of social media in contemporary society. A graduate in painting from Auchi Polytechnic, Adebowale has completed residencies at the Instituto de Arte E Cultura Yuroba in Brazil and Asiko Art School in Ghana.
Dipo Doherty (b. 1991) is a painter whose work explores the language of spatial geometry, with a focus on the depiction of the self and the human form. Binding together a dynamic set of styles and motifs, Doherty creates abstracted figures that give expression to emotional, cultural and scientific energies. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Doherty has held recent solo exhibitions at Red Door Gallery and Nike Art Gallery in Lagos.
Olumide Onadipe (b. 1982) is a sculptor who engages experimental processes that involve the manipulation of tactile materials. His recent work incorporates materials such as plastic bags, metal, wood, jute bags and glass, using a process of twisting and melting to create amorphous shapes that play with sculptural balance. A graduate in Fine Art from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Onadipe has held two solo exhibitions at Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.
Victor Ekpuk (Fall 2015)
Victor Ekpuk is a Nigerian-born artist based in Washington, DC. Ekpuk came to prominence through his paintings and drawings which reflect indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and uli art forms. Ekpuk reimagines graphic symbols from diverse cultures to form a personal style of mark making that results in the interplay of art and writing. His work has been exhibited in acclaimed international venues including the Krannert Art Museum (Illinois), the Fowler Museum (California), the Museum of Art and Design (New York), the Newark Museum (New Jersey), the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC), the New Museum of Contemporary Art (New York), the Dakar Biennale (Senegal) and the Johannesburg Biennial (South Africa).