Today marks the unveiling of the Nigerian Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. It's the country’s second participation in the global event and the presentation curated by Aindrea Emelife (Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at MOWAA, the Museum of West African Art in Benin City, Nigeria) showcases works by a cross-generational group of artists including Y.S.F. and G.A.S. Founder Yinka Shonibare CBE RA alongside G.A.S. alumni Tunji Adeniyi-Jones and artists Ndidi Dike, Onyeka Igwe, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Abraham Oghobase, Precious Okoyomon, and Fatimah Tuggar. Commissioned by the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, on behalf of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, the exhibition exclusively features commissioned, site-specific works, which have been installed throughout the historic Palazzo Canal in Venice’s Dorsoduro. 

Suspended States, the first solo exhibition of Y.S.F. and G.A.S. founder Yinka Shonibare CBE RA for over 20 years in a London public institution is now open at Serpentine Gallery. It marks a return for Shonibare who first exhibited at Serpentine South in 1992 as a finalist in the Barclays Young Artist Award, and as a participant in Serpentine's 2006 Interview Marathon. 

Suspended States includes both new and recent installations, sculptures, pictorial quilts and woodcut prints. The works on view explore central themes of legacies of colonial power, sites of refuge and shelter. Shonibare's new works centre on conflicts and related migration, and conversations on public sculptures and their significance in our cities. The exhibition also delves into the ecological impact of colonisation, the European legacy of imperialism and consequential attempts at peace.

We are delighted to open standard bookings for the third edition of the Yinka Shonibare Foundation Lagos Art Tour to Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation incorporating the wider creative and cultural community, and ART X Lagos. In 2024 the programme will run from 29th October until 3rd November. Guests will once again be in the company of our chair and founder Yinka Shonibare CBE RA and the trustees and staff of Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation, Yinka Shonibare Foundation (Y.S.F.), and be joined by globally renowned artists, curators and collectors.

The 2024 residency programme at G.A.S. Foundation commenced with the arrival of Victor Svensson and Eric Oetterli, Retail Management bachelor's thesis students from the Stockholm School of Economics, marking the second cohort of the prestigious Yinka Shonibare Thesis Scholarship initiated in 2023 in partnership with Art Initiative, Misum, Mistra Center for Sustainable Markets, and Stockholm School of Economics. During their residency, they explored the intricacies of Nigeria's cryptocurrency adoption, examining its ramifications on retail, economic growth, and financial inclusion. From their base at G.A.S. Lagos, they conducted a comprehensive series of in-person interviews with local retailers. Victor and Eric collaborated closely with a consultancy firm to design and circulate a survey garnering over 800 responses to unearth invaluable insights into the landscape of cryptocurrency adoption in Nigeria.

Following an exciting announcement on her new gallery representation by Regen Projects, Glasgow-based G.A.S. Alumnus and celebrated multidisciplinary artist, Alberta Whittle will debut her first exhibition with the gallery on March 16, 2024. This comes following the conclusion of her residency at G.A.S. Foundation, alongside Elsa James and TK Smith. The work in this exhibition revisits her travels in Nigeria, some having begun while in residence at G.A.S. Lagos. Entitled 'Learning a New Punctuation for Hope in Times of Disaster', Alberta’s exhibition at Regen Projects exemplifies the artist’s interdisciplinary approach to cultivating community and care as an antidote to catastrophes, from ecological collapse to the legacy of anti-Blackness. The exhibition presents Lagareh – The Last Born, 2022 for the first time in North America beside a suite of new paintings and sculptural works. Blending tender portraiture with more abstract passages and symbols, Alberta’s paintings reflect her own lived and embodied experience and desire to cultivate moments of rest, reflection, and kinship with and for others.