Art
Photo by Stephan Röhl via Wikimedia Commons.

Celebrated Contemporary African Art Curator Bisi Silva Has Passed Away

The independent curator and founder of Lagos' Centre for Contemporary Art lost her battle with cancer.

A tree has fallen in the contemporary African art world.

Bisi Silva, independent curator and founder of the Lagos-based Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), lost her battle with cancer Tuesday, PM News Nigeria reports.

"With a deep sense of loss, we regret to announce the passing of our Founder and Artistic Director of Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Olabisi Silva who passed away on Tuesday 12 February 2019," Iheanyi Onwuegbucha, the CCA's associate curator announced in a statement.

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Arts + Culture
'Sailing Back to Africa as a Dutch Woman,' 2017, from Fortia. By Keyezua, photo courtesy of Steven Kasher Gallery.

Our 9 Favorite African Visual Artists of 2018

We look back at the contemporary African visual artists who caught our eye this year.

This year, African visual artists have done their due diligence to carve their own path leading to creative autonomy, authentic storytelling and straight up greatness.

From photography and film, to even mixed-media art, the following have produced stand-out work that deserve their due accolades.

Feast your eyes on our nine favorite African visual artists of 2018 below.

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Arts + Culture
ART X Lagos founder and director with BOJ, Odunsi The Engine and Amaarae at the ART X Live! event. Photo courtesy of ART X Lagos.

Here's What Went Down at the Third Edition of ART X Lagos

We revisit what made West Africa's premier international art fair the place to be in November.

The third edition of ART X Lagos was a meaningful celebration of African art. Held one more at The Civic Centre in Victoria Island, it attracted thousands of guests from all over the African continent and the world. The three-day event kicked off typically, with an elaborate VIP preview evening full of African royalty, dignitaries, people of public interest and art enthusiasts in attendance.

There was a great amount of care taken to enhance the experience with a Tuareg-inspired VIP room designed by Alara Lagos, another Nigerian trailblazer in the realm of African arts and culture. The room, which would later host artist talks, was filled with intricately decorated chests, drapery and furniture that resembled a North African sultan's palace, complete with a 10-foot poster of the nomadic herdsmen in their typical setting: on camels, riding through the desert with no signs of life around. The alluring and mystical nature of the Tuareg lifestyle was realized and contrasted by cocktails, champagne, high fashion tastes, and guests from a wide range of fields who all congregated for this enhanced ART X Lagos experience.

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Art
Photo courtesy of ART X Lagos.

ART X Lagos Is Set to Celebrate the Best In Contemporary African Art In Its Third Year

West Africa's premier international art fair returns this November.

ART X Lagos returns to The Civic Center in Victoria Island to showcase the best and most innovative contemporary art from the African continent and diaspora in its third year.

From Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, West Africa's premier international art fair will host 18 international galleries including Art House – The Space (Nigeria), Addis Fine Art (Ethiopia), Circle Art Agency (Kenya), Stevenson Gallery (South Africa), Gallery 1957 (Ghana), Tafeta (United Kingdom), Tiwani Contemporary (United Kingdom), Nike Art Gallery (Nigeria), and Out of Africa Gallery (Spain) and more.

ART X Lagos will welcome artists hailing from East Africa for the first time, featuring Paul Onditi and Cyrus Kabiru from Kenya, in an effort to widen Nigeria's connection to the contemporary African art world. The fair is also welcoming Yinka Shonibare MBE as its 2018 keynote artist. He'll be celebrated with an exhibition that digs into his career highlights.

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