With its artists and institutions affirming their place in global art conversation at the Venice Biennial as part of the very foundation of the house, Nigeria, by its ‘absence’ is shifting focus from being just a physical entity but a lens through which the world is seen. Yinka Olatunbosun writes.
At the crux of this year’s Venice Biennale lies a fascinating paradox for West Africa’s cultural powerhouse. For the first time since 2017 since its official national participation, the green-white-green flag is not hoisted at an official national pavilion. Yet, paradoxically, the Nigerian presence in Venice has never felt more structural or deeply embedded in the “DNA” of the exhibition.
While the Nigerian government opted for a “strategic hiatus” to restructure its cultural diplomacy under the Destination 2030 initiative—aiming for a grand, permanent return in 2028—the vacuum has been filled by a sophisticated network of individual artists and independent institutions.
Cementing this institutional pivot is the Guests Artists Space, otherwise known as G.A.S. Foundation. Founded by Yinka Shonibare CBE in Lagos and Ijebu Ode, the foundation is one of the participants in the main exhibition of the Biennale, titled In Minor Keys.
