Art X Lagos 2021 records 'strong sales'

 

During ART X Lagos 2021 , few days ago.

DESCRIBED as "the first in-person art fair" held anywhere in Africa since the Covid-19 pandemic,A RT X Lagos 2021 closed, physically, on Sunday,  November 7, at Federal Palace, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

The online edition continues via ARTXLAGOS.COM until 21 November. 

A statement issued by the organisers said there were reports of "strong sales, enthusiastic collector attendance and gallery satisfaction across the board."

 In its sixth edition, ART X Lagos 2021 gathered 30  galleries from around the world. The galleries came from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Martinique, Morocco, Nigeria, Sénégal, South Africa, Spain, Uganda, United Kingdom, and USA, among others.  All showed 120 artists from over 30 countries.

The breakdown explained that from the 30 exhibitors, 15 joined ART X Lagos for the first time.

“This year’s ART X Lagos created a place for artists, gallerists, collectors and curators to come together and celebrate the vibrant African art scene," stated  Tokini Peterside, ART X Collective Founder & CEO. "The response to our first physical fair in two years has been astounding - demonstrating the critical role that the fair plays in Africa’s art ecosystems. Many of the 30 galleries who joined us have experienced robust sales and we are excited to welcome even more of them at ART X Lagos 2022. We thank all of our supporters, galleries, exhibiting artists and special projects artists for such a brilliant showing that demonstrated once again Lagos’ dynamism as a leading art capital in Africa.”

Included was ART X Talks, which brought together experts to discuss timely topics including: the role of collecting on the continent, the dangers of stereotyping African art, demystifying NFTs, and a panel discussion with Ngaire Blankenberg – the newly appointed Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

 Chigozie Obi, the winner of the Access Bank ART X Prize 2021, the organisers said, will present work at ART X Lagos 2022 after a residency at Gasworks in London, a cash prize and mentorship.,

Also, ART X Live! presented ‘Forward Ever’, a performance watched both in person and virtually around the world, featuring musicians Lojay, AYLØ and Dami Oniru alongside the visual artists AMKMQ and Fez, produced by BigFoot and Pheelz.

The Special Projects: Future Africa with newly commissioned artworks by David Alabo and Adéọlá Ọlágúnju; multilayered immersive installation Unfolding Layers of Time composed of paintings, sculptures, and photographs by Nigerian artist Kelani Abass; and We Are Here with the film collective The Critics and sound artist Aye! teaming up with ART X Lagos’ visitors to produce a dynamic short film, were also very well received. The digital versions can all still be viewed on our website ARTXLAGOS.COM, with the premiere of the We Are Here film happening shortly.

The Access Bank ART X Prize 2019 winner, documentary photographer Etinosa Yvonne also presented a solo exhibition titled “It’s All in My Head.”