ART X Lagos
Returns
Celebrate the 9th edition of ART X Lagos, Africa’s art epicentre, where the finest African and diasporic talents redefine the global art landscape. Don’t miss out—October 31 to November 3, 2024!
The Stage is Set
The Prize is high!
ABOUT
ART X PRIZE
The Access ART X Prize awards early-career artists from Africa and its diaspora opportunities to develop their practices, with the intention of setting them up for the highest levels of success on the global stage. This Prize has changed significantly by extending its reach beyond emerging Nigerian artists to include emerging talents from across Africa and its Diaspora.
The Nigerian Winner Will Receive:
– Residency at Gasworks, London
– Exhibition at ART X Lagos
– Support in the form of a $10,000 grant
– An invaluable opportunity for cultural exchange
The African/Diasporan Winner Will Receive:
– Residency at Yinka Shonibare’s GAS Foundation, Lagos
– Exhibition at ART X Lagos
– Support in the form of a $10,000 grant
– An invaluable opportunity for cultural exchange
Previous winners of this prestigious prize include; Julius Agbaje (2023 Nigerian Winner), Shabu Mwangi (2023 Africa/Diaspora Winner), Dafe Oboro (2022 Nigerian Winner), Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński (2022 African/Diasporan Winner), Chigozie Obi (2021), Etinosa Yvonne (2019), Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola (2018), Habeeb Andu (2017), and Patrick Akpojotor (2016).
PREVIOUS
EDITIONS
Access ART X Prize 2023/2024
The Jury
The Access Bank ART X Prize 2023/2024 was presided by an esteemed jury consisting of:
Emeka Ogboh
Artist
Barthélémy Toguo
Artist
Daudi Karungi
Founder, Afriart Gallery
Yesomi Umolu
Director of Curatorial & Public Practice for The Serpentine Galleries
Gabi Ngcobo
Artist, Educator & Curatorial Director, Javett Art Centre
Babajide Adeniyi-Jones
Documentary Photographer
2023/24 WINNERS
JULIUS AGBAJE THE 2023 NIGERIA WINNER
Julius Agbaje, a Nigerian Artist (b. 1992) born in Agege, Lagos to a Pastor and a teacher, initially pursued Computer Science at the Polytechnic but transitioned to art. After graduating from Yaba College of Technology with a Higher National Diploma in Painting in 2017, he furthered his artistry through an art residency and internship.
Julius's artworks are a reflection of his life's journey, exploring themes like racial discrimination, politics and spirituality. Employing satires, metaphors, and symbolism, he engages audiences in pertinent socio-political and spiritual issues. His art, threaded with personal experiences, leads him back to Go and a discovery of his life's purpose.
Using diverse mediums like watercolours, oil, acrylic, and charcoal, and techniques such as stencilling typography, and screen-printing, he constantly evolves, now venturing into sculptures with clay, wood, metal, and fibreglass.
His exhibitions with renowned galleries and organizations globally, including The Koppel Project Hiv (London, 2021) and Artemizia Foundation (USA, 2020), highlight his impact on the art world. Featured in local and international news media, his art sparks crucial political conversations in Nigeria, where he resides.
A Lagos resident, Julius draws inspiration from the city's vibrant lifestyle, reflected in his colourful renditions. His involvement in NGOs like the Arts in Medicine Fellowship showcases his commitment to using art for societal betterment. He currently resides and works in Berger, Lagos, immersing himself in both art and community engagement.
ASMAA JAMA
THE 2023 AFRICA/DIASPORA WINNER
The 2023 Access ART X Prize Africa/Diaspora Winner-Asmaa Jama (Somali/Denmark) Asmaa Jama, a self- taught Somali multidisciplinary artist, writer, and filmmaker in Bristol, explores themes of myth, movement, and migration. Their film works, including "Before We Disappear (2021 commissioned by BBC Arts and "Except this Time Nothing Returns from the Ashes" (2022) at Spike Island, showcase their interactive storytelling.
Jama's art has reached international platforms like the Venice Architecture Biennale and film festivals such as Blackstar and Sharjah Film Platform. Their writing, commissioned by various institutions, appears in publications like The Poetry Review and Nataal Jama's theatrical involvement spans writing for productions like "Dorothee Munyaneza's Mailles" and "Akal"
Jama's impactful writing has been commissioned by respected entities like Jerwood Arts, Hayward Gallery. Amolfini, and Ifa Gallery, with published works featured in notable publications like The Poetry Review and Nataal
Jama was commended for the Brunel African Poetry Prize (2022); and shortlisted for the New Poets Prize (2022) Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing Prize (2021); James Berry Poetry Prize (2021); To Speak Europe in Other Languages Prize (2020), and longlisted for National Poetry Competition (2021) and is a Cave Canem Fellow. Their accolades include commendations for the Brunel African Poetry Prize and residencies at prestigious institutions like the School for Sonic Memory, and Mucem/Onassis Stegi.
Recently, Jama's solo exhibition at Spike Island culminated with a commissioned showcase across 25 billboard sites in Bristol, exhibiting their diverse artistic talent.
The Finalists
Access ART X Prize 2022/2023
About
The Prize awards early-career artists from Africa and its Diaspora with opportunities to develop their practices, with the intention of setting them up for the highest levels of success on the global stage.
The Prize, formerly open only to emerging Nigerian artists, has evolved to include an additional award that is open to emerging artists from all of Africa and its Diaspora, in a bid to buttress sustainable careers for a wider range of artists.
For the 2022/3 edition of the prize, one artist will be selected from Nigeria, who will undergo a residency at Gasworks London. Another artist from Africa and its Diaspora will be selected to undergo a residency at Yinka Shonibare’s G.A.S. Foundation in Lagos. Both artists will be granted exhibitions at the ART X Lagos fair in 2023 supported by grants of $10,000 for their exhibition.
The Access ART X Prize 2022/3 will be judged by an esteemed jury which includes Alessio Antoniolli (Director, Gasworks & The Triangle Network), Dr Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung (Artistic Director, SAVVY Contemporary), Gabi Ncgobo (Artist and Curatorial Director, University of Pretoria), Maria Varnava (Founder, Tiwani Contemporary), Professor Peju Layiwola (Artist and Historian), and Victor Ehikhamenor (Artist).
The 2022/3 edition will be curated by Jumoke Sanwo.
The ART X Prize is sponsored by Access Corporation, the parent company of Access Bank.
Meet The Curator
Sanwo is a 2D/3D lens-based storyteller, pacemaker and cultural producer. Her works include photographs, video art and virtual reality film. She explores the complexities of postcolonial realism, on bodily, spatial, and temporal imaginaries in the city of Lagos, working through embodied and spatial memory to counter binary positions. Her artistic, curatorial and cultural productions have been showcased at galleries, museums, and festivals in many regions across the world; including at the Studio Museum in Harlem-New York, the New Museum -New York, the 56th Venice Biennale-Venice-Italy, International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA)-Amsterdam, Netherlands, Brunei Gallery London, Koppel Project Hive, London, and the Revolving Art Incubator Lagos, amongst many others. She lives and works out of Lagos, Nigeria.
FOR THE NIGERIA AWARD
FOR THE AFRICA/DIASPORA AWARD
The Access ART X Prize 2021
About
The ART X Prize was created to further the careers of emerging Nigerian artists who have demonstrated a commitment to working as professional visual artists.
In the absence of infrastructure that exists in other international centres of contemporary art, the ART X Prize was launched in partnership with Access Bank to contribute to the burgeoning contemporary art scene in Nigeria.
In 2019, the Prize was renamed the Access Bank ART X Prize, and now provides funding, tailored mentoring support, and a residency opportunity in collaboration with Gasworks, to exceptional emerging artists, enabling them to complete ambitious projects that challenge the expectations of local and global audiences.
The Access Bank ART X Prize returns after a hiatus due to Covid-19. The 2019 winner, documentary photographer Etinosa Yvonne, will commence a three-month residency at Gasworks in London in July 2021, creating work for a special solo exhibition at the fair in November, curated by Wura-Natasha Ogunji.
The Jury
The Access Bank ART X Prize was presided by an esteemed jury consisting of:
Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze
ARTIST AND CURATOR
Ugoma Adegoke
GALLERIST AND CURATOR
Alessio Antoniolli
DIRECTOR, GASWORKS & TRIANGLE NETWORK
Dexter Wimberly
CURATOR
Marie-Ann Yemsi
ART CONSULTANT AND CURATOR
Ndidi Dike
VISUAL ARTIST
The Finalists
2021 ACCESS BANK ART X PRIZE WINNER
Chigozie Obi’s Bio
A multi-dimensional visual artist, Chigozie Obi’s experimental artworks are created through the layering of multiple materials. Her work is consistent in the use of vibrant colours and figures to portray emotions and stories formed from personal experiences and focuses on the representation of Black/African people in their diversity.
“Emotion is a central theme in my work as I seek to connect with people by making them feel the vehemence in the stories I tell. As the result of personal connection, the subjects in my work thus far have been African/Black people.” – Chigozie Obi
Obi’s works have been featured in several group exhibitions and auctions including ‘Real Life Is Fragile’; Thinkspace Projects, Los Angeles; MoCada Museum’s silent auction (2019) and Collective Renditions, African Artists Foundation, Lagos (2019).
She is one of the recipients of the inaugural Tilga Fund for Arts Grant (2020), and the Art.ng Grant for Visual Artists (2020). She was also a nominee of The Future Awards Prize For Art (2020), a shortlisted artist for The Alpine Fellowship Art Prize (2020), and a former resident of Bethany Arts Community, New York (2020).
Editorials
Access ART X Prize 2019
About
The 2019 edition of the Access Bank ART X Prize was adjudicated by a jury of 5 renowned artists and industry stakeholders, namely Emeka Ogboh, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Ibrahim Mahama, Alessio Antoniolli, and Zina Saro-Wiwa.
The Jury
After a rigorous screening process, five finalists emerged: Ayomitunde Adeleke, Christopher Nelson Obuh, Etinosa Yvonne, Yadichinma Ukoha-Kalu and Peter Ebahi Okotor, with Etinosa Yvonne emerging as the winner after live presentations to the jury.
Wura-Natasha Ogunji
Zina Saro-Wiwa
Alessio Antoniolli
Emeka Ogboh
Ibrahim Mahama
The Finalists
THE ACCESS ART X PRIZE 2019 WINNER
Etinosa Yvonne’s Bio
Etinosa Yvonne is a self-taught documentary photographer, based in Abuja, originally from Benin City who considers photography to be a medium of expression and a tool to drive social change. Etinosa leverages the power of visual storytelling to create awareness, educate and inform people about causes and issues she is passionate about.
Etinosa Yvonne will claim the winnings of a cash grant of N1,500,000, a three-month residency at Gasworks, London, in 2021, and a solo presentation at ART X Lagos in 2021.
Editorials
Access ART X Prize 2018
About
The 2018 edition of the ART X Prize was adjudicated by a jury of 5 renowned artists and industry stakeholders namely, Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Sokari Douglas Camp CBE, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, and Oliver Enwonwu.
Three finalists, Ayo Akinwande, Williams Chechet and Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola, were selected during a rigorous screening process, with Bolatito emerging as the winner after live presentations to the jury.
The Jury
Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya
Oliver Enwonwu
Sokari Douglas Camp CBE
Wura-Natasha Ogunji
Yinka Shonibare CBE
The Finalists
THE ACCESS ART X PRIZE 2018 WINNER
Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola’s Bio
Bolatito is a trans-disciplinary artist working primarily in time-based art, interactivity and performance. She lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria, and earned her Masters in Performance Studies from Tisch School of the Performing Arts, New York University and holds a Bachelors in Communication Arts with a focus in Television/Film Production and a minor in Political Science from Allegheny College.
Access ART X Prize 2017
The 2017 Winner
THE ACCESS ART X PRIZE 2017 WINNER
Habeeb Andu’s Bio
Habeeb Andu graduated with a degree in painting from Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, Nigeria. His work bears the proud influence of the late Nigerian artist Ben Osaghae, under whose tutelage he trained upon graduation. Taking inspiration from abstract expressionism, Andu combines vibrant colours, applied with confident brush strokes, with intricately arranged elements of discarded material, resulting in mid-to-large sized mixed-media works that explore socio-political themes.
The Finalists
Access ART X Prize 2016
The 2017 Winner
THE ACCESS ART X PRIZE 2016 WINNER
Patrick Akpojotor’s Bio
Patrick Akpojotor is a visual artist working across printmaking, painting and installation art. He studied at the School of Art and Design, Federal Polytechnic, Auchi and Lagos State Polytechnic, and received several awards including the Olusegun Obasanjo National Art Competition (2013), and ART X Prize (2016). His works are part of King Mohammed VI of Morocco’s collection.
