January is always a useful time to reflect and assess plans for the New Year but for most of the team at AAF, it seems like the previous year never really ended with workflow in full swing.
The creative industry and the art world is often seen as most susceptible to global and regional economic challenges but that’s because we are yet to fully grasp and embrace the full potential of the arts in ameliorating hardship and inspiring innovation that is essential to overcoming crisis. For the artists, intellectuals and creative thinkers, this is an opportunity to join hands and create.
In the course of the 2016 calendar, we are looking at expanding the reach and impact of our annual projects such as LagosPhoto Festival, Etisalat Photo Competition, National Art Competition and Women Artist Exhibition as well as Designing Africa, our annual art and design showcase as well as a surprise new initiative which will be announced soon. In addition, outside these shores, we will be involved in programmes and exhibitions such as Cape Town art fair (South Africa), Bozar Exhibition in Brussels (Belgium), LagosPhoto in Arles (France) and Dak’Art Beinnale (Senegal). These platforms enable us offer more opportunities for artists to showcase their works on a global scale.
We remain ever grateful to the artists, partners, clients, sponsors and patrons that have contributed to the growth and development of the foundation over the years.
It is refreshing to witness Art Forum Africa develop initiatives and platforms
that address key issues such as its inaugural launch which addressed gender inequality in art visibility for women artists in Nigeria. I was pleased to be involved in the panel discussions that followed.
Furthermore, LagosPhoto was featured in the New York Times article “The Growth of Contemporary Photography at LagosPhoto”. The 22-slide photo content highlights works of Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Joana Choumali, Obi Nwokedi, Ayana Jackson and many more. The focus was our recent publication, Africa Under the Prism which will launched next month in Lagos during Social Media Week.
The coming months will be exciting at AAF with several changes imminent but we welcome change and are excited by the possibilities that transitions offer.
