Arthouse Foundation Announces Artist Residents in 2017
The Arthouse Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2017 Artist Residency Programme. With a newly renovated building in the heart of Ikoyi, the Arthouse Foundation offers live/work residencies for two artists simultaneously in three-month sessions. The Arthouse Foundation aims to encourage the creative development of contemporary art in Nigeria by providing a platform for artists to expand their practice and experiment with new forms and ideas.
The Arthouse Foundation offers a studio, art materials and logistical support for the creation of a new artistic project during their residency. The Arthouse Foundation hosts public programmes including an artist’s talk, workshop and open studios. The Arthouse Foundation Residency culminates in an end of the year exhibition showcasing the resident’s new artistic projects.
The Arthouse Foundation Artists-in-Residence 2017 are:
Winter Session (January 16-April 7, 2017)
Nengi Omuku (Nigeria, b. 1987)
Nengi Omuku 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.
Francois Beaurain (France, b. 1976)
Francois Beaurain 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.
Spring Session: April 24-July 21, 2017
Thierry Oussou (Benin, b. 1988)
Thierry Oussou is a visual artist and current 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).
Victoria-Idongesit Udondian (Nigeria, b. 1982)
Victoria-Idongesit Udondian combines used fabrics and second hand clothes to create installations, sculptures and canvases that speak cultural identity and overlapping histories. Her projects explore how textiles illuminate the social and political structures of local environments, particularly focusing on the history of textiles in Nigeria. Udondian received an MFA from Columbia University in New York in 2016. She attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine. She received a BA in painting at the University of Uyo, Nigeria in 2004. She won the Most Outstanding Production Award at the National Art Competition in Lagos in 2013. Udondian lives and works between Lagos and New York.
Fall Session: September 11-December 8, 2017
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.
Exchange with El Ranchito, Matadero Madrid Art Residency Programme and Nirox Foundation
Arthouse Foundation is pleased to partner with El Ranchito, Matadero Madrid Art Residency Programme and Nirox Foundation in a residency exchange programme between Nigeria, South Africa and Spain. In this exchange, Arthouse Foundation will host two Spanish artists selected by Matadero Madrid during our Fall Session, while two Nigerian artists will be chosen to participate in the residency programme at Matadero Madrid. The exchange will also take place between Spanish and South African artists at the Nirox Foundation.