CURATORIAL
LagosPhoto 2013: The Megacity and the Non-City (Co-Curator)
Lagos, Nigeria (Multiple locations)
October 25-November 16, 2013
The Megacity and the Non-City examined how the development of urban centers in Africa and the technical advance of photography have transformed our sense of place in a globally connected world. This exhibition included over fifty artists spanning fifteen countries.
Phantasms of the Non-City (Curator)
FNB JoBurg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa
September 27-29, 2013
Phantasms of the Non-City, exhibited on behalf of LagosPhoto, explored performative strategies in contemporary African photography, where artists negotiate the camera's relationship to representation, identity, and global connectivity. Artists included Adeola Olagunju (Nigeria), Cyrus Kabiru (Kenya), Karl Ohiri (Nigeria), Uche Okpa-Iroha (Nigeria), Mouhamadou Sow (Senegal).
Mediations: Recent Works on Paper by Uche Uzorka and Obinna Makata (Curator)
Galerie 23, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
May 12-June 3, 2013
Mediations, organized by the African Artists' Foundation, presented recent works on paper by Nigerian artists Uche Uzorka and Obinna Makata, whose mixed media drawings reflect the social fabric of daily life in the urban center of Lagos. This exhibition marked the first time that the artists have been shown in Amsterdam.
Designing Africa: Appropriating Cultures, Mediums, and Meanings (Curator)
African Artists' Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria
March 8-April 5, 2013
Designing Africa presented a survey of the vital yet often under-appreciated emerging tendencies in contemporary design on the African continent, examining the work of a diverse group of artists who explore avenues of the vast design field, including product design, furniture design, graphic design, typography, and constructed surfaces.
Line.Sign.Symbol (Curator)
African Artists' Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria
January 31-Feburary 23, 2013
Line.Sign.Symbol presented the second solo exhibition of Nigerian artist Uche Uzorka, whose work bridges the figurative and the abstract as he charts the urban city center.
Nigeria Now: Emerging Trends of Contemporary Art in Nigeria (Curator)
Art Africa Miami, Miami, Florida
December 4-9, 2012
Nigeria Now, presented at Art Africa Miami during the Art Basel Miami Fair, included the work of eleven Nigerian artists who collectively represent the dominant movements in contemporary art in Nigeria today. These artists examine the social and political landscape of Nigeria at the cusp of development and change. Artists include Joseph Eze, Ike Francis, Taiye Idahor, Obinna Makata, Chike Obeagu, Demola Ogunajo, Richardson Ovbiebo, Alafuro Sikoki-Coleman, Stephen Arueze Ubaka, Bob-Nosa Uwagboe, and Uche Uzorka. Nigeria Now was organized by the African Artists' Foundation.
LagosPhoto 2012: Seven Days in the Life of Lagos (Co-Curator)
Lagos, Nigeria
Seven Days in the Life of Lagos explored the richness and diversity of the city by examining subcultures and overlooked aspects of daily life in Lagos. Photographers were nominated to execute an extended photographic project with topics including religion, culture, nightlife, family, economy, music, lifestyle, and sports.
Nigerian Nostalgia Project (Curator)
A White Space, Lagos, Nigeria
October 8-25, 2012
The Nigerian Nostalgia Project is an online digital archive of collected photographs comprised of images, video, sound bytes, press clippings, publicity stills, and various ephemera depicting scenes and people in Nigeria between 1960 and 1980. This exhibition, presented during LagosPhoto 2012, marked the first time that the social media project was installed in public space.
Uche Uzorka: The Organic (Curator)
Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria
The Organic, Nigerian artist Uche Uzorka's first solo exhibition, examined the artists' process of cutting, pasting, and resurfacing products from consumer culture, including advertisements, billboards, currency, and signs. The Organic was organized by the African Artists' Foundation and Goethe-Institut Nigeria.
Metahistories: Obinna Makata (Curator)
African Artists' Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria
September 14-30, 2012
Metahistories, the first solo exhibition of Nigerian artist Obinna Makata, presented mixed media collages incorporating drawing and fabric that explore the duality of tradition and change in Nigeria's evolving cultural values. Metahistories was organized by the African Artists' Foundation.