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.
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.
Curated posthumously according to the vision of the late Koyo Kouoh, the Biennale features G.A.S.
not just as a supporter, but as a “world-making” institution.
By highlighting the foundation’s work in research, residency, and agricultural sustainability, the Biennale acknowledges that the future of Nigerian art isn’t just in the objects produced, but in the infrastructure built on the ground in Lagos.
After the premature passing of Koyo Kouoh in May 2025, with the full support of her family, La Biennale di Venezia decided to carry out her exhibition, with the purpose of preserving, enhancing and widely disseminating her ideas and the work she pursued with such dedication till she passed.
The invited participants of this exhibition – among them, individual artists, collaborative duos, collectives, and artist-led organisations – hail from many geographies and regions selected by Kouoh with particular attention to resonances, affinity, and possible convergences between practices, even when far apart.
Kouoh sought to envision how their ingenuity, breadth of material experimentation, and visionary ideas bear connections to other artists and movements in simultaneity.
In this spirit, In Minor Keys 110-participant strong expands upon Kouoh’s relational geography of encounters with artists over her lifetime.
Kouoh’s curation leans heavily on the “African gaze,” featuring a roster of heavyweights who represent the country’s contemporary range namely Otobong Nkanga who brings her signature exploration of land, memory, and repair; Marcia Kure, known for her intricate, multidisciplinary works that bridge traditional Nigerian motifs with global contemporary concerns; Ranti Bam who showcases her evocative, tactile sculptural works that push the boundaries of clay....
