The 2nd Lagos Biennial of Contemporary Art will take place from October 26 – November 30, 2019 at various venues across Lagos, Nigeria.
Curators: Tosin Oshinowo, Antawan I. Byrd, and Hansi Momodu-Gordon
With an estimated 21 million inhabitants, Lagos ranks among the largest cities in the world and is the most populous in Africa. In recent decades, the city’s built environment has expanded exponentially through large-scale land reclamation initiatives, major industrial and luxury development projects, and new transportation infrastructures. This steady growth has transformed and amplified Lagos’s distinctive history as a cosmopolitan hub, and incubator of cultural and technological innovation. Yet such rapid change continues to raise pressing questions—facing cities across the globe—about the impact of urbanization on conceptions of citizenship, the role of information systems, environmental sustainability, and socioeconomic equality. The forthcoming biennial titled, How To Build a Lagoon with Just a Bottle of Wine? will take the city of Lagos as its epicenter and point of departure for a broader investigation into how contemporary art and design reckon with the nature of built environments today.
A range of proposals are welcomed, including those that
Consider how artworks create environments that can be inhabited, or mediate interactions between humans and nature
Propose models for fostering empathy and compassionate approaches to cohabitation in light of urbanization
Address the impact of architecture and built environments on specific communities, social dynamics, and/or sensory experience
Meditate on the relationship between cities of today and deeper histories of urbanization and economic exchange
Speculate on the future role of art and technology in forging sustainable ways of living
Analyze the effects of urbanization on communication systems and print culture
Artists wishing to participate in the biennial are invited to apply by submitting a complete application form and supporting materials. Applications can be submitted via an online application at lagos-biennial.org/opencall or by e-mail at opencall@lagos-biennial.org
