After a two-year hiatus, Refuge: Lagos Biennial 2024 returns to the historical grounds of Tafawa Balewa Square, named after the first Nigerian Prime Minister.
Known for its historical significance, from hosting Nigerian independence celebrations in 1960 and the Festival of Black Arts and Culture FESTAC ’77, Tafawa Balewa Square continues to play a central role in the political, social, and cultural events post-independence.
Creating Alternate Realities
Established by artists in 2017, the not-for-profit contemporary art platform is run by the Àkéte Art Foundation, a Lagos-based artist collective registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria.
The 4th edition of the Lagos Biennial makes for a critical start to the ongoing dialogue around the ideas of space as Lagos is centred as an international geopolitical and social point “to create a speculative environment for the fabrication of alternate realities”. Directed by Kathryn Weir and Folakunle Oshun, the biennial featured a series of autonomous platforms, special projects, and conversations responding in different ways to the theme, Refuge, the site of the exhibition, and notions of informality in building new architectures of community exploring the strategies of taking refuge in plain sight.
An installation view of the Lagos Biennial 2024. Courtesy of Lagos Biennial.
In the spirit of the previous editions of the Lagos Biennial, the organisers have always sought out the exploration of historical and political spaces. Their first edition took place at the operating shed of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, which was built in 1955, while the second edition was held in the abandoned Independence House Lagos, a 25-story building donated to Nigeria by the British colonial administration at independence in 1960. Unlike the first two editions, the 2021 edition was held online after a series of multidisciplinary teams selected by a jury—Kunle Adeyemi, N’Goné Fall, and Kathryn Weir—responded through an open call process to the theme, Refuge.
Notable Installations
Highlights from Gregarious Architectures
Some of the installations featured in the Gregarious architectures at the biennial includes “Miracle Central” by Victor Ehikhamenor- a mixed-media installation that used the scale and grandeur of Tafawa Balewa Square as a basis for an experiential dialogue on the histories of religion and culture in Nigeria; Bruce Onobrakpeya’s sculptural pieces made from metal, car parts and plastic; Demas Nwoko’s sculptures of brown-painted doors, a large spread of decaying jute sacks laid at the centre of the square from “Yakachana” (2012-2024) by Ibrahim Mahama; Yussef Agbo-Ola’s site-responsive sacred architectural altar “Airi: Bone Altar”, a living architectural entity for worshipping non-human life and extinct species; and Stéphanie Brossard's “Boukan”, a recreation of an altar dedicated to the ceremonial worship of ancestors and divinities and regarded as a taboo today in Reunionese, Malagasy and Comorian culture.
Victor Ehikhamenor, Miracle Central (2024), Installation view, Lagos Biennial 2024. Courtesy of Lagos Biennial.
Bringing Together Artists and Thinkers
This examination of space in the context of Tafawa Balewa Square brought together artists, researchers, and critics from different corners of the world. The biennial does not only show the brilliance of creative collaborations, it reveals an urgent need for connection and experimentation starting from local art communities.
Ibrahim Mahama, Yakachana, Installation view of Lagos Biennial 2024. Courtesy of Lagos Biennial.