By Adefoyeke Ajao

The second edition of the Iwaya Community Art Festival opened on the 6th of December, 2017. An initiative of the Vernacular Art-space Laboratory (VAL), the festival finds its home in Iwaya, a suburb of Lagos. According to its organisers, the festival is a means of bringing “art closer to people who might not be able to see or afford a standard exhibition”. This is the reason why they favour “alternative and abandoned spaces for installations and performances”. The festival was born out of the need to redeem the community’s youth as well as its reputation as a hub for crime. It is described as an intervention that seeks to channel the energies of youth in Iwaya away from negative activities by encouraging them to explore their artistic sides and to collaborate with like minds in the community.

Since art is the foundation’s tool for effecting social change, the 2017 edition focuses on migration and the plight of refugees and sheds light on prevailing perceptions and stereotypes that exclude them from the larger society. Co-curated by artists Aderemi Adegbite and Abraham Oghobase, the official line-up includes 38 artists invited from within and outside Nigeria. Artists from around Iwaya who are interested in making presentations are also welcome to participate in the programme.

On display at prominent locations along the streets of Iwaya is a mix of genres including visual art, performance art and installation art pieces. Speaking on the reasons for using the streets as its gallery, the festival’s artistic director, Aderemi Adegbite said, “Art risks becoming elitist because you have to visit galleries and museums to see exhibitions, and as an artist, I’m always looking for new ways and alternative spaces to present my work. Artists need other spaces to express themselves, to experiment and to display their creations, and this festival provides an avenue for artists to do so.”

This year’s festival also sees the introduction of the foundation’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) programme. The residency features five foreign artists – Anja Sijben (Netherlands), Aline Motta (Brazil), Rita GT (Angola), Gor Soudan (Kenya), and Moran Been-noon (Israel) – who have each spent a month living with different families within the community and have created various works based on their experiences with their host families and the community.

The 2017 Iwaya Community Art Festival runs till the 10th of December 2017.

Photos courtesy of Aderemi Adegbite/ICAF