LAGOS. Dal 25 ottobre al 26 novembre a Lagos, in Nigeria, va in onda la quinta edizione del festival fotografico LagosPhoto dal titolo ‘Reality, Documenting Fiction‘.
Lanciato nel 2010, LagosPhoto è il primo e unico festival internazionale delle arti fotografiche in Nigeria con eventi, mostre, workshop, presentazioni di artisti, dibattiti, proiezioni e installazioni all’aperto. LagosPhoto mira a fornire una piattaforma per lo sviluppo e l’educazione della fotografia contemporanea in Africa attraverso la definizione di mentorship e collaborazioni con artisti locali e internazionali. LagosPhoto presenta la fotografia come si incarna nella esplorazione di temi storici e contemporanei, la promozione di programmi sociali e il recupero di spazi pubblici. LagosPhoto 2014 dispone di una quarantina di fotografi che abbracciano ventuno paesi.
Il tema di quest’anno prende in esame i fotografi contemporanei che lavorano in Africa che negoziano i confini e le relazioni tra fotografia, credenze e verità, al di là dei confini dello sguardo fotogiornalistico. Questi artisti producono un lavoro che tiene conto delle preoccupazioni sociali e politiche complesse che definiscono una nuova Africa nel XXI secolo, e studiano come l’ubiquità delle immagini svolga un ruolo fondamentale nel modo in cui la realtà è costruita e articolata.
Utilizzando racconti, performance, auto-ritratti e nature morte, questi artisti si spingono verso i confini temporali e spaziali del mezzo fotografico. In tal modo, il tema considera come questi artisti immaginano diversi contratti a termine e noleggio mondi fittizi, utilizzando la fotografia come un catalizzatore per studiare le mutevoli realtà dell’Africa di oggi.
GLI ARTISTI. Ade Adekola (Nigeria) | Laurence Aëgerter (France) | Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou (Benin) | Jenevieve Aken (Nigeria) | Seun Akisanmi (Nigeria) | Aisha Augie-Kuta (Nigeria) | Ricardo Cases (Spain) | Edson Chagas (Angola) | Kudzanai Chiurai (Zimbabwe) | Pierre-Christophe Gam (France/Cameroon) | Angélica Dass (Brazil) | Cristina de Middel (Spain) | Delphine Fawundu (Sierra Leone/USA) | Glenna Gordon (USA) | Hassan Hajjaj (Morocco) | Jacqueline Hassink (The Netherlands) | Nicolas Henry (France) | Jan Hoek (The Netherlands) | Sam Hopkins (UK/Kenya) | Namsa Leuba (Switzerland/Guinea) | Lowe Cape Town (South Africa) | Thomas Mailaender (France) | Dillon Marsh (South Africa) | Jide Odukoya (Nigeria) | Abraham Oghobase (Nigeria) | Karl Ohiri and Riikka Kassinen (UK & Finland) | Bayo Omoboriowo (Nigeria) Zac Ové (UK/Trinidad) | Augustin Rebetez (Switzerland) | Viviane Sassen (The Netherlands) | Mary Sibande (South Africa) | Anoek Steketee & Eefje Blankevoort (The Netherlands) | Sésu Tilley-Gyado (Nigeria) | Bénédicte Vanderreydt (Belgium) | Karine Versluis (The Netherlands) | Lorenzo Vitturi (Italy) | Patrick Willocq (France) | Hans Wilschut (The Netherlands)
ENGLISH VERSION. The LagosPhoto Foundation presents the fifth edition of the annual LagosPhoto Festival in Lagos, Nigeria, October 25-November 26, 2014, entitled Staging Reality, Documenting Fiction. Launched in 2010, LagosPhoto is the first and only international arts festival of photography in Nigeria. In a month long programme, events include exhibitions, workshops, artist presentations, discussions, screenings, and large scale outdoor installations in congested public spaces in Lagos. LagosPhoto aims to provide a platform for the development and education of contemporary photography in Africa by establishing mentorships and cross-cultural collaborations with local and international artists. LagosPhoto presents photography as it is embodied in the exploration of historical and contemporary issues, the promotion of social programmes, and the reclaiming of public spaces. LagosPhoto 2014 features forty photographers spanning twenty one countries.
This year’s theme, Staging Reality, Documenting Fiction, examines contemporary photographers working in Africa who negotiate the boundaries and relationships between photography, beliefs, and truths. Incorporating conceptual and performative strategies that expand traditional photographic practice, many contemporary artists working on the continent move beyond the confines of the photojournalistic gaze. These artists produce work that considers the complex social and political concerns that define a new Africa in the twenty-first century, and they explore how the ubiquity of images plays a vital role in how reality is constructed and articulated. Utilizing genres such as staged narratives, performance, appropriation, self-portraiture, and still life, these artists push the temporal and spatial boundaries of the photographic medium. In doing so, Staging Reality, Documenting Fiction considers how these artists imagine different futures and charter fictive worlds, using photography as a catalyst to investigate the changing realities of Africa today. LagosPhoto opens to the public on October 25, 2014 at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. Satellite exhibition venues in arts and cultural spaces throughout the city extend to Omenka Gallery, African Artists’ Foundation, Stranger Lagos, Goethe-Institut, Alliance Francaise, and Miliki. Outdoor exhibitions in public spaces in Lagos include Muri Okunola Park (Victoria Island), Falomo Roundabout (Ikoyi), Beko Ransome Kuti Park (Antony), Awojobi Park (Onike), MKO Abiola Park (Ikeja), and Dolphin Park (Ikoyi).
ARTIST. Ade Adekola (Nigeria) | Laurence Aëgerter (France) | Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou (Benin) | Jenevieve Aken (Nigeria) | Seun Akisanmi (Nigeria) | Aisha Augie-Kuta (Nigeria) | Ricardo Cases (Spain) | Edson Chagas (Angola) | Kudzanai Chiurai (Zimbabwe) | Pierre-Christophe Gam (France/Cameroon) | Angélica Dass (Brazil) | Cristina de Middel (Spain) | Delphine Fawundu (Sierra Leone/USA) | Glenna Gordon (USA) | Hassan Hajjaj (Morocco) | Jacqueline Hassink (The Netherlands) | Nicolas Henry (France) | Jan Hoek (The Netherlands) | Sam Hopkins (UK/Kenya) | Namsa Leuba (Switzerland/Guinea) | Lowe Cape Town (South Africa) | Thomas Mailaender (France) | Dillon Marsh (South Africa) | Jide Odukoya (Nigeria) | Abraham Oghobase (Nigeria) | Karl Ohiri and Riikka Kassinen (UK & Finland) | Bayo Omoboriowo (Nigeria) Zac Ové (UK/Trinidad) | Augustin Rebetez (Switzerland) | Viviane Sassen (The Netherlands) | Mary Sibande (South Africa) | Anoek Steketee & Eefje Blankevoort (The Netherlands) | Sésu Tilley-Gyado (Nigeria) | Bénédicte Vanderreydt (Belgium) | Karine Versluis (The Netherlands) | Lorenzo Vitturi (Italy) | Patrick Willocq (France) | Hans Wilschut (The Netherlands)
Through our numerous collaborations, LagosPhoto continues to provide a platform for the improvement and progression of professional and emerging photographic talent in a comprehensive public programming initiative that includes workshops, artist presentations, and portfolio reviews facilitated by prominent local and international photographers.
Info: LagosPhoto