You probably know the story of the din of contemporary visual art in Nigeria.
It ends with you realizing that the institutions the propped the arts were left to go derelict. Not much has changed since.
In the last few years, a batch of initiatives has picked up where a storied older generation left off. One of them, for instance, is planning to shut down Broad Street for a massive street art intervention.
From the 11th to the 24th of February, multidisciplinary creatives from countries around the world will gather in Lagos for danceGATHERING.
Now in its third year, it was built on the idea of practical collaboration and mutual sharing of knowledge and celebrating identity.
This year’s edition is themed ‘AFROSPACETIME’ and will end with a massive street art intervention on 23rd and 24th February, which will see Broad Street on Lagos Island closed down for the entire weekend.
The gathering is convened by this guy – Qudus Onikeku
And while he wasn’t drawing patterns in the air, he emphasised that the idea of the gathering is to affirm the “reality of a shared networked and global presence on this planet.”
“It is a reality that we indicate through the declaration of these premises as fact and, within the framework of AFROSPACETIME, danceGATHERING 2019 will offer an opportunity for us to express and interweave those fleeting emotions, imageries and imaginations borne of consciousness and allow them to enrich our lives,” he said.
The whole festival is framed as a laboratory for creatives from the African continent and its diaspora.
But most importantly, it is an opportunity for the Lagos populace to have direct access to a potpourri of amazing international artists.
The gathering will be open to the public on the 20th of February with an Artists’ Salon on the 21st at Glover Memorial Hall on the Lagos Marina.
There’ll be a dance party on the 22nd at the same venue.
We’re taking it to the streets on the 23rd and 24th with the international performance weekend.
Save the dates.
