LagosPhoto Festival is the largest international photography festival in Nigeria and attracts over 20.000 visitors annually. [1] Founded in 2010 by Azu Nwagbogu of the African Artists Foundation, the festival spotlights emerging and established photographers from Africa and internationally. [2] With a strong focus on presenting historical and contemporary stories from the African continent, the month-long festival takes place at various indoor and outdoor venues and includes exhibitions, events, workshops, residencies, talks and digital programs. Some of the photographers and artists who have taken part are Viviane Sassen, Samuel Fosso, Hassan Hajjaj, Maimouna Guerresi, and Zanele Muholi. [3] [4] [5]
The inaugural edition leveraged on Nigeria's 50 years of Independence and was curated by Azu Nwagbogu, Caline Chagoury and Marc Prust. Participating photographers were required to have worked in Lagos, Nigeria or in Africa shooting works that interpreted the theme ‘No Judgement: Africa Under the Prism’. [6]
Exhibiting photographers
The second edition presented the hidden stories on the continent as opposed to the mis-represented, over-represented, sensationalized and dramatic images commonly covered with the power of photography. Titled ‘What’s Next Africa? The Hidden Stories’, the festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu, Caline Chagoury, Marc Prust and Medina Dugger. [7]
Exhibiting photographers
Titled ‘Seven Days in the Life of Lagos,’ the festival was aimed at capturing the energy and vibrancy of Lagos. A city of extreme contradictions, Lagos transforms with the fast pace of urban migration and the explosion of development and technology that is dissolving barriers and leading to new types of interaction. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu, Caline Chagoury, Stanley Greene, Medina Dugger and Joseph Gergel. [8] [9]
Exhibiting photographers
‘The Megacity and the Non-City’ explored how the development of urban centers in Africa and photography has transformed our sense of place in a globally connected world.. [10] The 21st century has been characterised by the rise of the megacity, with cities such as Lagos transitioning and adapting to vast changes taking place at an unprecedented speed. By situating photography at the core of their practice, the artists investigated the circulation of images in our society, their mass consumption and capacity to document personal and collective world-views. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu. [11]
Exhibiting photographers
'Staging Reality, Documenting Fiction' showcased contemporary photographers in Africa who delved into the connection between beliefs and truths. [12] By incorporating conceptual and performative strategies that go beyond traditional photographic practices, the artists challenged the confines of the photojournalistic gaze. Their works reflected a departure from conventional approaches, addressing complex social and political issues that define twenty-first-century Africa. The artists looked at alternative futures and how to construct fictive worlds, employing photography as a catalyst to probe the evolving realities of contemporary Africa. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu.
Exhibiting photographers
The LagosPhoto Festival's sixth edition, themed "Designing Futures," looked at African design, and our understanding of how we shape Africa as the central platform for discussing our historical, present, and future aspirations. The creation of images, identities, desires, ecologies, and cultures was explored through various mediums, including advertising, textiles, portraiture, and both factual and conceptual photography. These diverse avenues question how we process, navigate, and envision the possibilities within the realms of a future Africa. The festival was curated by Cristina de Middel. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu. [13]
Exhibiting photographers
The central theme of the seventh edition, "Inherent Risk; Rituals and Performance," explored the constructed notions of gender, image, identity, social agency and power dynamics in contemporary society. The festival showcased the works of 30 photographers from 17 countries. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu.
Exhibiting photographers
The 2017 iteration of the LagosPhoto Festival prompted artists to contemplate the prevailing systems of truths and beliefs, questioning the diminishing significance of the pursuit of reality in our era. [14] In contemporary times, photography has emerged as the modern repository for this fading quest for reality, not merely due to its perceived freedom, but rather because it encapsulates the synthesis and exposes the contradictions inherent in the knowledge society and its imperative for creativity. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu. [15]
Exhibiting photographers
Under the theme "Time Has Gone," the focus the festival explored contemporary dialogues encompassing various aspects of time. Artists from diverse corners of the world engaged in discussions on the notion of urgency. [16] Each artist investigated practices of archiving, preserving and envisioning an Afro-centric future, concluding a 'time that is up'. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu, Eva Barois de Caeval, Charlotte Langhorst, Wunika Mukan, Valentine Umansky.
Exhibiting photographers
Passports was the theme of the 10th edition of LagosPhoto Festival and asked the question ‘What are the options of living freely in a world that will be determined by borders?’ [17] Artists of different nationalities were invited to explore options of a fluid world, where nationality, gender, and historical imbalances are secondary. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu, Charlotte Langhorst and Maria-Pia Bernardoni.
Exhibiting photographers
Special Programmes
For its eleventh edition, the festival focused on the theme ‘Rapid Response Restitution’, looking at the prospect of a decolonial "citizens' history." [18] Utilizing the democratic medium of photography, LagosPhoto established a Home Museum featuring over two hundred participants from the African Continent, the US, South America, China, and Europe.
The launch of Home Museum’s open call in May 2020 was synchronous with the virulent first wave of the Corona pandemic. With mobility and access to exhibitions severely hampered, AAF began to imagine a new way of building a digital museum through an extended concept of the home. The Home Museum served as a prototype for a citizens' institution, where every member of society actively could contribute to the communal understanding of cultural values and directly engage with questions of restitution, eliminating delays in the process. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu, Dr. Clémentine Deliss, Dr. Oluwatoyin Sogbesan, and Asya Yaghmurian
The twelfth edition of the annual LagosPhoto introduced the theme "Memory Palace," delving into the connections between humans and memory. [19] It explores the transformative capacity of photography and images to ignite visual intellect, restoring fading and lost memories. The discourse evolved from the concept of the previous year’s festival of the Home Museum to the Memory Palace. This year's theme ‘Memory Palace’ looked at reimagining heritage and history relating to Africa and its diasporas. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu and included a talk by Ibrahim Mahama.
Exhibiting photographers
Special Programmes
"Remember Me - Liberated Bodies, Charged Objects" was the theme of the 13th edition of the LagosPhoto Festival. [20] [21] It questioned the subjectivity inherent in (colonial) archives and encouraged the creation of sustainable new models guided by both ancestral and contemporary wisdom. The festival was curated by Azu Nwagbogu.
Exhibiting photographers
The theme for this year, "Ground State – Fellowship within the Uncanny," explores how to revive, mend, and restore the enigmatic histories vital for our survival. [22] The festival was curated by Peggy Sue Amison.
Exhibiting photographers
Special Programmes
James Iroha Uchechukwu is a Nigerian photographer. He was born in 1972 in Enugu. He is known for his photography, his support to young photographers, and the passing on of his knowledge to the young. He is also regarded at the beginning of the 21st century as someone that has broadened the horizon of Nigerian photography.
Andrew Esiebo is a Nigerian photographer. He has covered personal projects and assignments on primarily Nigeria and West Africa but has gained international recognition.
Johnson Donatus Aihumekeokhai Ojeikere, known as J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, was a Nigerian photographer known for his work with unique hairstyles found in Nigeria.
Aisha Augie-Kuta is a Nigerian photographer and filmmaker based in Abuja. She is a Hausa from Argungu Local Government Area in northern Nigeria. She won the award for Creative Artist of the year at the 2011 The Future Awards. Her work spans across documentary, fashion and aerial photography. She uses juxtaposition in her work as her way of pushing the idea that there are always two sides of a story; this comes from her background in photojournalism and Mass Communication. Her personal projects explore issues of gender and identity influenced by her experiences as a female, mixed race and mixed tribe individual who struggled to fit in earlier in life.
Cristina de Middel is a Spanish documentary photographer and artist living and working in Uruapan, Mexico.
Festac '77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, was a major international festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 15 January 1977 to 12 February 1977. The month-long event celebrated African culture and showcased to the world African music, fine art, literature, drama, dance and religion. About 16,000 participants, representing 56 African nations and countries of the African Diaspora, performed at the event. Artists who performed at the festival included Stevie Wonder from United States, Gilberto Gil from Brazil, Bembeya Jazz National from Guinea, Mighty Sparrow from Trinidad and Tobago, Les Ballets Africains, South African Miriam Makeba, and Franco Luambo Makiadi. At the time it was held, it was the largest pan-African gathering to ever take place.
The African Artists' Foundation (AAF) is a non-profit organization, based in Lagos, Nigeria. It was founded in 2007 by Azu Nwagbogu, as a platform for contemporary African art and artists working across photography, fine art, video, ceramics, sculpture, performances, writing and curation. The African Artists' Foundation has through the establishment of LagosPhoto festival, National Art Competition and its residency program raised international awareness to African creativity by also collaborating with institutions, foundations, biennales and festivals globally.
Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge (1911–1994) was a self-taught photographer and pioneer of Nigerian photography. He was the first official photographer for the royal court of Benin City, Nigeria, and a chief in the Iwebo palace society. Alonge's record of Nigerian royalty and social class is one of the most extensive and well-preserved collections from the period.
David Ejikeme Uzochukwu is an Austrian–Nigerian art photographer with a focus on portrait photography who lives and works in Brussels and Berlin.
Kelechi Amadi-Obi is a Nigerian creative photographer, painter, artist and the publisher of Mania Magazine. His work in photography and visual art has earned him international renown featuring in many international exhibitions including Snap Judgment: New Position in contemporary African Photography, International center of photography New York (2006) He has been described as one of Nigeria's groundbreaking celebrity photographers who has "helped put Nigerian photography on the world map.". Vogue calls him "a major force in the creative scene in Nigeria."
Jenevieve Aken is a Nigerian documentary, self-portrait and urban portrait photographer, focusing on cultural and social issues. Her work often revolves around her personal experiences and social issues surrounding gender roles. Aken also models in her self-portrait works. Her work has been shown at Lagos Photo Festival. Aken currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria.
Bénédicte Kurzen, is a French photographer and photojournalist. She is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Uche Okpa-Iroha is a Nigerian multidisciplinary artist who mainly adopts photography as his preferred medium of artistic expression.
The Invisible Borders Trans-African Photographers Organization is an artist-led initiative founded in 2009. The initiative started as a collective led by Emeka Okereke alongside his colleagues, inspired by a road trip experience to Bamako from Lagos for the 8th edition of the Bamako Encounters Festival of Photography. The group is mainly known for its Trans-African Road Trip, which began in 2009. The Trans-African Road trip photography projects have been hosted at The 56th Venice Biennale, and The National museum of Modern Arts, Georges-Pompidou Centre, Paris.
Adama Delphine Fawundu is a Sierra Leonean-American multi-disciplinary photographer and visual artist promoting African culture and heritage, a co-founder and author of MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora – a journal and book representing female photographers of African descent. Her works have been presented in numerous exhibitions worldwide. She uses multiple mediums to create works with themes about identity, utopia, decolonization, and stories of the past, present and future. She is a Professor of Visual Arts at Columbia University.
Kadara Enyeasi is a Nigerian fine art photographer.
Sabelo Mlangeni is a South African photographer living and working in Johannesburg, South Africa. His work is held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Walther Collection.
Akintunde Akinleye is a photojournalist whose images centre around photo-activism and trial narrative subjects. A former Reuters photographer covering West Africa, his photography has documented Nigeria's postcolonial history. He is the first Nigerian photographer to receive the World Press Photo prize (2007), for his image of a pipeline explosion in Lagos. The same year, he received the National Geographic All Roads award. His photographs have been published in Time, Vogue, The New York Times, and other publications.
Adéọlá Ọlágúnjú is a Nigerian visual artist working with photography, video, sound and installations.
Azu Nwagbogu is a Nigerian art curator and National Geographic Explorer at Large. He is the Founder and Director of the African Artists' Foundation, the LagosPhoto Festival and creator of Art Base Africa, an emerging virtual space dedicated to exploring and understanding contemporary African art and diaspora. He was awarded "Curator of Year" by the Royal Photographic Society in 2021, and included on the ArtReview list of the 100 most powerful people of the art world in 2021, 2022 and 2023. He will curate Benin's inaugural pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024.