Guest Artists Space Foundation

📚 Today, we’re sharing our May pick from the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive.⁠ ⁠ We spotlight “Ruins of the Present (Magofu Ya Sasa)” by Noah Misan Okwudini (@thediniverse ), an exploration of urbanisation in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city. Developed through collaborative research, the publication blends urban study with visual and material inquiry, examining how cities are shaped through their structures, materials, and social realities.⁠ ⁠ Current resident Kush Badhwar (@ulwehill ) found this publication relevant to his ongoing research.⁠ ⁠ “This publication was really helpful because it looks at urbanisation not as a natural process, but as a social and political one. Seeing this research play out in Dar es Salaam provides a vital mirror for what is happening in coastal zones across the continent.”⁠ ⁠ 📍Schedule a visit to our library to read the book via the link in bio.⁠ ⁠ #gasfoundation #yinkashonibarefoundation #gaslibraryandpictonarchive #archivalpractices #ruinsofthepresent

G.A.S. Foundation is honoured to present Chorus, a multi-media installation conceived for the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia by Koyo Kouoh, on view at the Arsenale, Venice from 9 May - 22 November 2026. Emerging from the Foundation’s residency programme across Lagos and the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ, Chorus draws on the Yorùbá courtyard as both architectural and conceptual anchor, a space of gathering, ritual, and intergenerational exchange. The installation brings together voices of former residents and collaborators through sound, colour, and moving image. ______ The artwork is led by Ann Marie Peña (@ms.a.m.pena ), with support from Yinka Shonibare CBE (@yinkashonibarestudio ), Belinda Holden (@belholden ), and Moni Aisida (@solamoni ). It is project managed by Samantha Russell (@fiberlegacy ), with architectural installation design by MOE+ Art Architecture (@moeaa.feed ). Film production is by Filmwrights (Randall Wright) and Julie Buckland, and sound design by Sound Disposition (@sound_disp ) and Funmilola Ogunshina (@funmitheunicorn ). Contributors are; Alberta Whittle (@purebred.mongrel ), Ayomide Fasedu (@the_midefash ), Bisila Noha (@bisilanoha ), Catherine Bardi (@bardi.oo ), Damilola Akin-Olasupo, Emma Prempeh (@reclus__e ), E.N. Mirembe (@subtleroyalty ), Gideon Gomo (@gideongomo ), Jonn Gale (@balkanjonn ), Ofem Ubi (@ofem.ubi ), Olayinka Eno Babalola (@island.sunsets ), Olufela Omokeko (@omokeko ), Portia Zvavahera (@zvavaherportia ), Raqs Media Collective (@raqsmediacollective ), Raymond Pinto (@raymondpinto ), Ṣọlá Olúlòde (@solaolulode ), Tobi Onabolu (@tobionabolu ), and Umar Rashid (@frohawktwofeathers ). ⁠ Supported by The Osahon Okunbo Foundation (@theosahonokunbofoundation ), Olufemi A. Akinsanya (@olufemiakinsanya ), Triangle Network (@trianglenetwork ), Yinka Shonibare CBE, Annette Anthony (@aanthony_author ), Kayode Adegbola (@kayodea ), Bimpe Nkontchou (@bimpe_nkontchou ), Denise Bradley-Tyson (@denisebinspired ), Wally Bakare (@wole_bak ), Yemi Adunola, Adeniyi Adenubi (@niyiadenubi ), Oba Nsugbe(@nsugbeoba ), and Tokini Peterside-Schwebig (@tokinipeterside ) . 🔗 Read more via the link in our bio.

✨We are thrilled to announce that the public can now register to use our Reading Room on Wednesdays and Fridays for up to four hours!⁠ ⁠ 📚 Conceived as a space for meaningful encounters with publications that map connections across African and Afro-diasporic art and cultural ecologies, the Reading Room brings together materials from the Re:assemblages programme’s growing network of contributors. At its centre is the Picton Archive and Reference Collection and G.A.S. Library Reference Collection.⁠ ⁠ Through May 2026, the Reading Room hosts the C& Cyclopedia, featuring a digital resource that reimagines @contemporaryand (C&) extensive archive of over 11,000 texts in English, French, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.⁠ All visits are by appointment only at our Lagos space. ⁠ ⁠ While the C& Cyclopedia will be available in the Reading Room through May 2026, it will continue to be accessible beyond this period and remain available indefinitely. The Reading Room itself will also stay open indefinitely. Visitors are encouraged to review the guidelines before attending, as registration is subject to approval to ensure a focused and reflective study environment.⁠ ⁠ Please note that registration is subject to approval, and we kindly ask that you review the instructions on the form before attending.⁠ ⁠ 🔗 To register, please follow the link in our bio.⁠ _____________⁠ #gasfoundation #contemporaryand #yinkashonibarefoundation #aallab #reassemblages #archivalpractices #africanliteraryrestitution #publiclibraries

Akir Hall (@akirhall ), a London-based biodesigner, material researcher, and recipient of the G.A.S. Fellowship Award 2026, joins us for an eight-week residency at the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ. His interdisciplinary practice spans textiles, craft, research, design, and ecology, exploring the intersection of biotechnology, artisanal craft, and regenerative design. Working with bacteria and fungi, he grows biomaterials that are later shaped, dyed, and finished using traditional techniques to create lighting and homeware objects that bridge heritage craft and future-facing material innovation.⁠ ⁠ “I plan to use the residency to develop a biomaterials library based on agricultural by-products from the farm and local area, exploring what can be created from overlooked natural resources. I am also particularly looking forward to sharing my practice and research with the creative community, in the hope that it might inspire local artists and designers to explore natural materials in their own work.”⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Read more via the link in bio.⁠ ⁠ #gasfoundation #yinkashonibarefoundation #akirhall #research #gasresidency⁠ ⁠ Image credit:⁠ 1. Image of Akir Hall. Photo: ShotByWillz.⁠ 2. Stacked Mycelium Lamp, commission by the kombucha bar & microbrewery Wild Is Earth in London. Image courtesy of the artist.⁠ 3. Sumi Lantern made with bacterial cellulose panels grown from fermented tea and dyed with natural sumi ink. Image courtesy of the artist.⁠ ⁠

In December 2025, G.A.S., in partnership with @yinkashonibarefoundation , announced the fourth edition of the G.A.S. Fellowship Award. This year’s edition offered multiple fully funded residencies, including two slots at the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ under the African-Based and Diaspora Creatives category.⁠ ⁠ After receiving over 90 applications from 12 different countries across the continent, we are thrilled to announce the recipients for this category. ⁠ ⁠ ✨ Akir Hall (@akirhall ), a London-based biodesigner and material researcher.⁠ ⁠ ✨ Kevin-Ademola Sangosanya (@aboynamedjane ), an experimental artist and researcher based in France.⁠ ⁠ 📣 Shoutout to our shortlisted applicants for their exceptional proposals, which made the selection process highly competitive: Olushola Olajobi (@Olusholaolajobi ), Somnachino (@somunachino ), Vida Madighi-Oghu (@vida_madighi_oghu ), Foluso Oguntoye (@lushsoulfoltheafromantic ), and Turakella Editha Gyindo (@deja_vu_studios_ ).⁠ ⁠ 👏 A huge thank you to our selection panel: Moni Aisida (@solamoni ), Belinda Holden (@belholden ), Catherine Bardi (@bardi.oo ), Funmilola Ogunshina (@funmitheunicorn ) and Samantha Russell (@fiberlegacy ) for their time and dedication. ⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Read more via the link in bio.⁠ ⁠ #gasfoundation #yinkashonibarefoundation #artistresidency #nigerianartists #gassfellowship⁠ ⁠

For the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, James Cohan Gallery is proud to celebrate the participation of Yinka Shonibare's Guest Artists Space (G.A.S) Foundation, as one of the four gallery artists presenting. Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation presents Chorus, a multi-media installation emerging from its residency programme, which operates across a purpose-built creative campus in Lagos and a sustainability-focused farm with an onsite artist studio in Ikise. The installation centers the Yorùbá courtyard – historically a space of gathering, ritual, and intergenerational exchange – as its architectural and conceptual point of departure, bringing together the voices of former residents and collaborators. Central to the installation is is a film presented as channels of sound, washes of colour, and the movement of images. Chorus unfolds as a contemplative, multi-sensory environment in which visitors journey through the intersecting dialogues of former G.A.S. residents and beckons all to enter, listen, and consider their own possibilities for taking part. 🔗 Learn more about G.A.S' installation at the link in bio. 📸: GUEST ARTISTS SPACE (G.A.S.) FOUNDATION. Courtesy of Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation #YinkaShonibare #GuestArtistsSpaceFoundation #JamesCohan #BiennaleArte2026 #InMinorKeys @labiennale @yinkashonibarestudio @gasfoundation

Our Alumni and trustee at the La Biennale di Biennale (@labiennale )!⁠ ⁠ ‘In Minor Keys’⁠ Biennale Arte 2026⁠ ⁠ featuring⁠ Gideon Gomo (@gideongomo ) alongside four other artist presents Second Nature at the Zimbabwe pavilion which explores neuroplasticity as both metaphor and method, an entry point into thinking about how identities, stories, and societies are continuosly reshaped.⁠ ⁠ At the Gaggiandre, Nolan Oswald Dennis (@data_body ) presents Black Earth Calendar and Black Water Station (Mbarara), works composed from recordings gathered through open-source seismic sensing systems positioned across the African continent, including one located in the artist’s own studio.⁠ ⁠ Ranti Bam (@baamtii ) presents Ifa Ile Oja, an installation of five monumental hand-built black stoneware vessels situated within the Arsenale. Echoing bodies in varying states of presence and transformation, Ranti’s installation pays homage to the philosophy that spirit and human life meet in the marketplace (Oja) and reframes our relationship to the body and the natural world, working to dismantle inherited ideological constructs.⁠ ⁠ Across drawing, painting, sculpture and installation, Temitayo Ogunbiyi ⁠ (@temitayostudio ) brings together botanical forms, the techniques and geometries of hairstyles, play structures and the diagrammatic logic of navigational charts. ⁠ ⁠ #biennalearte2026 #inminorkeys #gasfoundation #yinkashonibarefoundation #labiennale

Today, we are pleased to highlight a series of presentations, panels, and exhibitions featuring G.A.S. alumni and a trustee across Venice and within the wider La Biennale di Venezia (@labiennale ) programme.⁠ ⁠ Within the Biennale exhibitions, Gideon Gomo (@gideongomo ) will present work in the Zimbabwe Pavilion (@pavilionofzimbabwe ) as part of Second Nature, Manyonga held at Santa Maria della Pietà in Castello. Joining four other artists, his contribution engages neuroplasticity as both metaphor and method, opening onto questions of how identities, stories, and societies are continuously reshaped. Also included in the Biennale exhibition are G.A.S. alumni Ranti Bam (@baamtii ) and Nolan Oswald Dennis (@data_body ), alongside trustee Temitayo Ogunbiyi (@temitayostudio ).⁠ ⁠ In a parallel programme, Ruby Onyinyechi (@ruby_onyinyechi_draws ), in collaboration with Wura Ogunji (@wuraogunji ), will present THE DASH at Hotel Monaco, Sala Corte. The live performance forms part of 1922 Revisited, a programme curated by Janine Sytsma in dialogue with Artistic Director Koyo Kouoh’s exhibition In Minor Keys.⁠ ⁠ Sola Olulode (@solaolulod ) will participate in two panel discussions during the pre-opening week. On May 5, she joins Beyond Here: Queering African Art History at Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal, a conversation organised by the African Art in Venice Forum that centres queer African voices within art historical discourse. On May 7, she participates in We Carry What We Cannot Leave at the British Pavilion, alongside Pio Abad and Mohammad Z. Rahman.⁠ ⁠ #biennalearte2026 #inminorkeys #gasfoundation #yinkashonibarefoundation #labiennale

Ahead of the La Biennale di Venezia opening next week, we celebrate artists who were in residence with us, and whose practices shape our presentation. At G.A.S. Emma Prempeh (@reclus__e ) deepened her engagement with memory and image-making, while Ofem Ubi (@ofem.ubi ) expanded his ongoing projects. During her time with us, Portia Zvavahera (@zvavaheraportia ) developed new paintings later presented in I See You at Tiwani Contemporary, alongside Gideon Gomo (@gideongomo ), who developed sculptural works for the same exhibition during his residency. For Alberta Whittle (@purebred.mongrel ), the residency unfolded through research and exchange, while Raqs Media Collective (@raqsmediacollective ) developed a project as part of the World Weather Network. Raymond Pinto (@raymondpinto ) built connections and later deepened his engagement with Yoruba cultural traditions, while Umar Rashid (@frohawktwofeathers ) turned to Adire, incorporating its dye and resist techniques into his tapestry work. Tobi Onabolu (@tobionabolu ) explored frequencies through Yoruba cosmology, as Bisila Noha (@bisilanoha ) traced ceramic lineages across Ayobo, Ilorin, and Osogbo. Within the archive, E. N. Mirembe (@subtleroyalty ) followed Black Orpheus, extending an inquiry into literary histories. Jonn Gale (@balkanjonn ) drew on archival and medicinal research to shape her ethnobotanical practice. Olufela Omokeko (@omokeko ) explored agricultural histories through Àgbàlá Ọkọ́ (Hoe Courtyard), while Ṣọlá Olúlòde (@solaolulode ) engaged with Yoruba textile traditions, particularly adire. 🔗 Read more via the link in our bio. — Presentation realised with generous support from The Osahon Okunbo Foundation (@theosahonokunbofoundation ), Olufemi A. Akinsanya (@olufemiakinsanya ), Triangle Network (@trianglenetwork ), Yinka Shonibare CBE, Annette Anthony (@aanthony_author ), Kayode Adegbola (@kayodea ), Bimpe Nkontchou (@bimpe_nkontchou ), Denise Bradley-Tyson (@denisebinspired ), Wally Bakare (@wole_bak ), Yemi Adunola, Adeniyi Adenubi (@niyiadenubi ), Oba Nsugbe (@nsugbeoba ), and Tokini Peterside-Schwebig (@tokinipeterside ) ⁠ #biennalearte2026 #inminorkeys #gasfoundation #yinkashonibarefoundation #labiennale

Last week in Lagos, MOWAA brought together institutions, private practices, libraries, and conservation specialists for ‘Archive Fever II: Ecosystem Meet-Up’ – an evening of exchange focused on the care, preservation, and accessibility of art archives and heritage collections. Hosted by G.A.S. Foundation (@gasfoundation ) as an associate event of the AAL Lab and Affiliates Network, the evening created space for cross-institutional knowledge exchange and collaboration, strengthening the relationships and shared thinking needed to support archival practices across Nigeria. Thank you to everyone who joined and contributed. ‘Archive Fever II’ is supported by the Embassy of France in Nigeria (@franceinnigeria ) under the Alternative Heritage grant.

Lagos-based mixed-media artist adeoluwa oluwajoba (@ade.oluwajoba ), whose practice explores image transfer through layered fragments of bodies and landscapes, recently concluded a four-week residency at G.A.S. Lagos. During this time, he advanced his cyanotype experiments on fabric while continuing to develop Alice in a Daydream, an ongoing body of work reflecting on individual and collective presence in Lagos’ public spaces.⁠ ⁠ To mark the end of his residency, he hosted The Cyanotype Studio on 2 April 2026, a two-part programme combining a hands-on workshop and an open studio presentation. Participants were introduced to cyanotype as both a photographic process and an expanded drawing tool, learning how to prepare solutions, create digital and hand-drawn negatives, and expose images using sunlight before fixing them to reveal the process’s distinctive blue tones.⁠ ⁠ The session concluded with an open studio presentation of Alice in a Daydream, where visitors engaged closely with a selection of works produced during the residency and in earlier stages of the project.⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Read more via the link in bio!⁠ ⁠ adeoluwa’s residency was made possible through the generous support of @DeutscheBank .⁠ ⁠ @deutschebankart #gasfoundation #yinkashonibarefoundation #gasfellowship #adeoluwaoluwajoba #cyanotypes

Join us at G.A.S. Lagos on April 30th 2026 for Work Starts Now, a film screening and discussion led by current resident Kush Badhwar (@ulwehill ). The programme brings together three of Kush’s short films: We in a 1 Room Kitchen, Work Starts Now, and Blood Earth, which explore labour, resistance, and creative expression, from the power of song in political movements to the rhythms of everyday survival in contemporary urban India.⁠ ⁠ Following the screening, Kush will partake in a conversation unpacking the themes within the films, opening up space for questions and discussion.⁠ ⁠ 🔗 RSVP via the link in bio.⁠ ⁠ Kush’s residency is realised in collaboration with the Finnish Cultural Foundation (@kulttuurirahasto ). ⁠ ⁠ #gasfoundation #yinkashonibarefoundation #gasfellowship #KushBadhwar #film