Third Annual LagosPhoto Festival Opens 13 October 2012 With Leading Local and International Photographers

LagosPhoto proudly presents the third edition of its international photography festival entitled
“7 Days in the Life of Lagos”, featuring 30 local and international photographers.

LagosPhoto is an annual photography festival in Lagos, Nigeria. Launched in October 2010.
LagosPhoto is the first and only international arts festival of photography in Nigeria. Events
include exhibitions, workshops, and large-scale outdoor prints displayed throughout the city with the aim of reclaiming public spaces and engaging the general public with multifaceted stories of Africa. LagosPhoto presents a contemporary and historical visual essay of the continent to both a local and global audience.

Participating photographers in LagosPhoto 2012 include: Halima Abubakar, Bunmi Adedipe, Segun Adel la, Aderemi Adegbite, Jenevieve Aken, Akintunde Akinleye, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Lolade Cameron Cole, Medina Dugger, Andrew Esiebo, Delphine Fawundu, Maja Flink, Stanley Greene, Jane Hahn, Chantal Heijnen, Chinenye Godsproperty John, David de Jong, Benedicte Kurzen, Ruth McDowall, Jide Odukoya, Lakin Ogunbanwo, Olayinka Oluwakuse, Bayo Omoboriowo, George Osodi, Judith Quax, Olayinka Sangotoye, Alafuro Sikoki, Andrea Stultiens, Margherita Trestini, and Hans Wilschut.

This year’s edition aims to capture the energy and vibrance that make the city of Lagos such a
unique cultural environment. Lagos is the creative and business hub of Nigeria, arguably even
Africa, an urban megapolis with a high population density. The rate of change in the city is also
rapidly evolving with improvements struggling to keep pace with the restlessness and innovation

of the people. Lagos is the most populous city in Nigeria, the second fastest growing city in
Africa and the seventh fastest growing city in the world. A city of extremes, Lagos is also a city of
contradictions. As the city transforms with the fast pace of urban migration and an explosion of
development and technology that is dissolving barriers and leading to new types of interactions,
LagosPhoto 2012 aims to document the city of Lagos from a comprehensive and nuanced
perspective, one that reveals the big picture by focusing on the minute details of social life.
Photographers were nominated to document aspects of life in the city with an extended
photographic project, with topics including religion, architecture, culture, nightlife, economy, music, lifestyle, sports, government, and infrastructure, among others. By providing a plural
point of view that includes the many facets of daily life in diverse socio-economic communities
of Lagos, LagosPhoto 2012 continues its philosophy in documenting and inspiring change
through photography.
 

Seun Kuti and Basketmouth at the Lagos Photo Fund raising dinner on September 28th

This year, internationally renowned photographer Stanley Greene will serve as Artistic Director
of LagosPhoto. As one of the most respected photographers in the world, Stanley Greene has a reputation for representing the world’s stories in the most visually stunning style combined with the philosophy of using photography to bear witness to the eternal struggle for social justice and
human rights.

LagosPhoto 2012 will open with the official exhibition at the Eko Hotel & Suites. LagosPhoto
2012 extends its mission in engaging the city of Lagos and the public by extending the exhibition
to nine simultaneous satellite exhibition spaces throughout the city of Lagos. Exhibition venues
include the African Artists’ Foundation, Nimbus Gallery, A White Space, Omenka Gallery,
e Federal Printing Press, e Kalakuta Fela Museum, Muri Okunola Park, the University
of Lagos, and the Falomo Roundabout.

An exhibition of photographs that document the ongoing demolition of Makoko will
inaugurate the newly created LagosPhoto Projects series at the African Artists’ Foundation
Gallery, where a group of photographers and journalists intervene in public spaces to reveal
stories of the changing social landscape in Nigeria. Anton Cobijn’s photographs of Fela Kuti in
the early 1980s will be exhibited at the Kalakuta Fela Museum in a partnership between
Felabration and LagosPhoto. An installation of the Nigeria Nostalgia Project, an online digital
archive of collected photographs, including vernacular images, video, sound bytes, press
clippings, publicity stills, and various ephemera depicting scenes in people in Nigeria between
1960-1980, will unfold in an interactive presentation at A White Space. 


Goethe-Institut Nigeria will partner with LagosPhoto to present an installation entitled Black.Light at the Federal Printing Press in Lagos Island. Black.Light is based on the work of renowned war photographer
Wolf Böwig’s report on West African Civil Wars, and includes fteen graphic artists from around
the world in a combination of photographs, literary texts, and graphic novels. Outdoor venues
such as the Muri Okunola Park, the University of Lagos, and the Falomo Roundabout engage
public spaces throughout the city with exhibitions of large scale, durable outdoor photographic
prints.

Though our numerous collaborations, LagosPhoto continues to provide a platform for the
development of photographic talent through mentoring, workshops, and seminars. is year, a
comprehensive Public Programming initiative will include portfolio reviews, artist
discussions, studio courses, and production workshops by leading local and international
photographers. A screening projection of images will also take place during the opening week at
the Eko Hotel & Suites, where participating photographers will be present to discuss their
projects.

The images in LagosPhoto 2012 will lead to a book publication, entitled Lagos: Entropy
Unchecked, to be published after the festival. The LagosPhoto 2011 catalogue will be available for
purchase during the festival.

LagosPhoto 2012 opens with a VIP Preview at the Eko Hotel & Suites on 12 October 2012. The Grand Opening Ceremony will take place on 13 October 2012 at the Eko Hotel & Suites . Receptions at satellite venues will take place during the Opening Week.

LagosPhoto 2012 is directed by Stanley Greene, Azu Nwagbogu, and Caline Chagoury, and is
co-curated by Medina Dugger and Joseph Gergel.

LagosPhoto is sponsored by Etisalat, Eko Hotel & Suites, and Arts Collaboratory.
Partners include Samsung, Kis, Konica, Skysnap, Universal Furniture, Ltd, Lagos State Ministry
of Environment and Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK), and Studio 24.
Supporters include Goethe-Institut, Spéos Photography Institute, Air France, Martini, Bacardi,
Grey Goose, and Porsche.

For More Information, Contact Us:

Email: info@lagosphotofestival.com

Web: www.lagosphotofestival.com

Facebook: Search LagosPhoto

African Artists’ Foundation:
54 Raymond Njoku Street
Off Awolowo Road
Ikoyi, Lagos