Lagos Art
by Emily Feng
Finding art in Lagos involves a city-hopping tour from quiet galleries tucked away in gated communities to a pop-up showing in the bare bones of Eko Atlantic ” an unfinished Victoria Island luxury complex that is still mostly empty beach. œThere are a lot of things bubbling under [the surface] but it happens in pockets and sometimes in quite disconnected spaces, says Tokini Peterside, founder of ART X Lagos.
One of west Africa™s largest art fairs, Art X Lagos reflects Nigeria™s potential on the global scene. It came of age in 2017, when it welcomed close to 10,000 guests, doubling the attendees from the previous inaugural run. A similar number attended the third annual fair this month. œLagos [has had] an influx of so many people from different cultures and religions, says Oliver Enwonwu, director of Omenka Gallery, which was founded in part to honour the legacy of his father, painter and sculptor Ben Enwonwu. œIt™s organised chaos in a city that has so much life.
 Tushar Hathiramani is the founder of 16/16, a multi-use arts space in Lagos, and H-Factor, a newer creative spot nearby. œThe absence of art infrastructure means that artists are going around finding rogue ways to show their art, sometimes in very random places, he says. Both venues operate as bar, gallery and studio, often giving less established artists and performers their first exhibition opportunity.
