ACETNEWS
The Lagos Biennial is set to at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos. Themed The Museum of Things Unseen, the international contemporary art exhibition will feature over 70 artists from Nigeria and across the world, alongside special pavilions presented by the European Union, Floating Museum Chicago, and other international cultural organisations.
Founded in 2017 by Nigerian artist and curator Folakunle Oshun, the Lagos Biennial has become an important platform for contemporary artistic expression and international cultural exchange. Previous editions have been staged at the Nigerian Railway Corporation compound in Yaba (2017), Independence House (2019), and Tafawa Balewa Square (2024), transforming historically significant locations into spaces for contemporary art.
This year’s edition, curated by Furen Dai, Chinyere Obieze and Sam Hopkins, under the artistic direction of Folakunle Oshun, The Museum of Things Unseen challenges conventional ideas of what a museum should be and whose histories it represents. The exhibition asks: What lies hidden in the shadows of our museum spaces? Whose stories are silenced, and whose voices are amplified? If we were to build a museum from scratch, unbounded by structural inequities, what form would it take? Through installations, sculpture, photography, film and performances, participating artists explore the politics of visibility, cultural memory and the possibilities of imagining new museum institutions.
This year’s edition moves to Eko Atlantic City, one of Africa’s most ambitious urban developments. The exhibition explores the histories, objects and narratives often overlooked or excluded from conventional museums, while examining the relationship between cultural heritage, collective memory and the transformation of African cities.
Founder and Artistic Director of the Lagos Biennial, Oshun stated: “The Museum of Things Unseen invites us to reconsider what museums preserve, what they leave out, and how we might imagine new institutions that respond to our own histories. Bringing this exhibition to Eko Atlantic City also allows us to reflect on the relationship between Lagos’s rapidly changing urban landscape and its cultural memory.”
A major highlight of the exhibition will be the presentation of the Akete Collection, an initiative of the Lagos Biennial aimed at establishing a permanent contemporary art museum in Lagos. The programme will also feature installations, performances, public conversations and the Curatorial Lab Lagos, an international professional development initiative for emerging curators.
The fifth edition reinforces Lagos’s growing position as an international cultural destination, bringing together artists, curators, collectors and visitors while contributing to Nigeria’s expanding creative economy.
The Biennial opens with a special preview on 13 November, followed by its public opening on 14 November. The exhibition will run on selected dates until 6 December at Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island, Lagos
