LagosPhoto Festival 2017 "REGIMES OF TRUTH"

LagosPhoto Festival 2017
"REGIMES OF TRUTH"

Oct 21 - Nov 20 2017

African Artists’ Foundation announces Duro Olowu as the guest curator for the eighth edition of the annual LagosPhoto Festival in Lagos, Nigeria, October 21 -November 20, 2017 themed Regimes of Truth.

LagosPhoto is the first and only international arts festival of photography in Nigeria. The festival presents photography as it is embodied in the exploration of historical and contemporary issues, the promotion of social programmes, and the reclamation and engagement of public spaces in showcasing contemporary photography.

This year’s theme, Regimes of Truth, examines the search for and the presentation of truth in contemporary society by drawing on inspiration from the works of nineteenth and twentieth century thinkers, writers and philosophers who offered insights into our contemporary society’s information overload and truth quagmire. Intellectuals and writers such as Flaubert, Foucault, Orwell, Huxley and Achebe prophetically offered poignant insights into our current socio-political and cultural conundrum where access to information and substantive facts are in conflict. The theme allows for reflection on regimes of truths and beliefs, and the fading relevance of the quest for reality in our time. Contemporary photography has become the new repository of the fading quest for reality, not by virtue of its supposed freedom, but because it embodies the synthesis and unmasks the contradictions of fact and reality in society but also by its imperative for creativity. It is our point of interdependence and the most democratic tool for social engagement today. This is evidenced by the ease of and ubiquity of images today.

Under these conceptual premises, the curatorial team at LagosPhoto led by guest curator, Duro Olowu and artistic director Azu Nwagbogu will gather established and emerging artists whose work, ironically, subtly or brutally unveil the dissemination of power, knowledge and truths and the unfolding of new irreverential global logic at work in the construction of subjectivities as fragmented, euphoric beings.

An internationally renowned London based fashion designer, Olowu has established a firm reputation as a curator and thinker. His critically acclaimed exhibitions, "Material" in 2012 and "More Material" in 2014 at Salon 94 Gallery in New York as well as last year’s "Making and Unmaking" exhibition at Camden Arts Centre in London demonstrate a unique and clear vision and appreciation of Africa’s rich cultural and artistic history and its equal place in the international contemporary art world.

As is usual with LagosPhoto, there will be no boundaries or bias based on photographic approach. Historical work, archival material, reportage, collage, conceptual and non-conceptual image based approach will be considered by Olowu’s led curatorial team. The list of participating artists and photographers will be published on the 1st of May.

ABOUT LAGOS PHOTO
Launched in 2010, LagosPhoto has established a community for contemporary photography, which unites local and international artists through images that encapsulate individual experiences and identities from across all of Africa. LagosPhoto presents and educates about photography as it is embodied in photojournalism, the exploration of historical and contemporary social issues, the sharing of cultural practices, and the promotion of social programs.

ABOUT AFRICAN ARTISTS’ FOUNDATION (AAF)
LagosPhoto is organized by the African Artists’ Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of contemporary African art. Established in 2007 in Lagos, Nigeria, African Artists’ Foundation aims to encourage the highest standard of art in Africa through organizing art exhibitions, festivals, competitions, residencies, and workshops.