Photos: Tokini Peterside-Schwebig\Art X Lagos
Art X Lagos will hold its 9th edition from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. Previous editions have hosted exhibitions from over 400 African artists from 70 countries. Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, the fair’s founder, expects it to showcase the evolution of global perceptions of African art and artists.
💡 What does Art X Lagos seek to accomplish?
We introduced it as an art fair and have evolved it considerably over the last three years. We still present the leading galleries from across Africa and the diaspora. But now a huge part of the fair is looking to a multidisciplinary experience leveraging film, music, literature, publications, and special projects.
💡 Is African art making money?
We’ve seen major rises in the valuation of art from African artists over the past ten years. An artist today working on the African continent can have a very global career even while living in Africa. We come to it from a place of true love and appreciation for our culture and how that culture speaks to our heritage and identity.
💡 What should African art transmit to society?
In an ideal world, we should strive for art that empowers a vision for Africa’s future. Our theme this year is ‘Promised Lands’. There is a backdrop of difficulty and challenges around us in Africa. So, can we leverage art to take our minds to places — real or imagined — where we can design for ourselves what that land of promise looks like?
💡 Is it getting easier to organize this?
When I started this fair, we were at 360 naira to the dollar and we were shouting. Today, we are at 1,700 naira — we are tired, we can’t even shout again! So you can imagine what it takes to pull off this kind of endeavor in this economic climate.
