G.A.S. Foundation is proud to announce a new residency partnership with Fondation H, launched in celebration of our founder Yinka Shonibare CBE RA’s major solo exhibition, Safiotra [Hybridités/Hybridities]. Opening on 11th April 2025 at Fondation H in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and running until 28th February 2026, this landmark presentation marks Shonibare’s first major exhibition on the African continent. Taking its title from the Malagasy word safiotra, evoking hybridity, cultural synthesis, and the negotiation of identity, the exhibition spans fifteen years of Yinka Shonibare’s practice. Works on view include signature pieces such as The African Library (2018), part of Fondation H’s permanent collection, alongside recent and site-responsive sculptures, including Refugee Astronaut X (2024).
Exterior of Fondation H, Antananarivo. Photographer: Fabio Thierry Andriamiarintsoa © Fondation H.
G.A.S. Foundation is especially honoured to support and collaborate on this pivotal moment in Shonibare’s career. In parallel with the exhibition, G.A.S. and Fondation H are launching a residency partnership that connects the vibrant creative ecosystems of Lagos and Antananarivo.
The inaugural residency has been awarded to Joey Aresoa, a Malagasy artist whose work navigates visual arts and literature to explore themes of memory, archiving, and oral histories. Her installation AntsaAngano (2024), which imagines a living library where stories take shape as sculptural forms, resonates deeply with Shonibare’s The African Library and aligns with G.A.S.’s ongoing programming foregrounding African archives, storytelling, and knowledge systems.
Joey Aresoa, inaugural G.A.S. x Fondation H resident artist. Photographer: Fabio Thierry Andriamiarintsoa © Fondation H.
Aresoa’s residency will be split across G.A.S. Foundation’s site in Lagos and Fondation H in Antananarivo. She will be given time and space to deepen her research, expand her interdisciplinary practice, and engage in meaningful dialogue with fellow artists, scholars, and local communities. Her research will culminate in public and community-facing presentations in both cities, enriching the transnational conversations catalysed by the exhibition.
This collaboration between Fondation H and G.A.S. Foundation underscores our shared commitment to supporting artists who are actively reimagining how African and diasporic histories are documented, preserved, and told. Through Safiotra [Hybridités] and its accompanying residency, both institutions aim to foster enduring relationships across borders, and disciplines.
Press Enquiries
Yinka Shonibare Foundation: Magda Kaggwa | magda@yinkashonibarefoundation.com