In just two years, the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive has grown into a rich collection of nearly 2,000 cultural research materials. This incredible achievement was made possible by generous book donations and financial support from our patrons, friends, and wider community. We are so proud to announce our first monthly library update, recapping the latest developments in the life of the G.A.S Library and Picton Archive.

In conclusion of her 8-week-long residency, G.A.S. Foundation's 2023 Fellowship recipient, Amanda Iheme, presents Ugwu-001, a reflection on her residency research and experiences. Drawing from the Igbo word "Ugwu," meaning "Dignity," this event divulges the core of Amanda's study, which is rooted in a rigorous examination of Nigeria's affordable housing crisis.

Only six months following his Tiwani-sponsored residency at G.A.S. Foundation, Gareth Nyandoro has launched a solo exhibition at Tiwani Contemporary, titled Pfumvudza. The exhibition presents Nyandoro's personal engagement with the concept of pfumvudza (meaning early shoots, to bloom or thrive), and the name of the 2020 Zimbabwean government-sanctioned programme funded by the UN, advocating citizen self-sufficiency, to help mobilize, train and support families and small crop growers to implement conservation agriculture to restore, and renew the fertility of soil, to grow plots of maize, millet, and wheat to mitigate food insecurity and the decline of large-scale industrial production.

In March G.A.S. Foundation welcomed the first two residents supported through a new partnership with RCA BLK, the Royal College of Art Association of Black Students, Alumni & Friends. Practitioners Remi Kuforiji and Graeme Smith were selected following an open call in 2023 for an exceptional early/mid-career artist who is an RCA BLK member; and a research-based proposal from the wider RCA BLK community.

This event orchestrates a crucial encounter for performing artists from Q-dance Studio at the G.A.S. Foundation, focusing on a three-hour workshop facilitated by Dawit L Petros. Its core objective is to decode and demystify the institutional and professional frameworks that shape contemporary arts practice. This initiative is designed to empower artists by enhancing their understanding of formal structures and processes prevalent in the arts industry, thereby aligning their creative pursuits with professional standards and expectations.

The start of May was marked by the arrival of our seventh Tiwani Contemporary supported resident at G.A.S. Foundation. Dawit L. Petros. Dawit’s rich, collaborative multidisciplinary practice blends visual art, film and photography. His time in Lagos will provide a crucial opportunity to build on and develop existing projects.

Focus on Four is a photography presentation curated by current resident Amanda Iheme, aimed at individuals exploring their own photography practice, or looking to discover new talent in the medium. It will spotlight the work of four Lagos-based photographers and deep-dive into their creative processes articulating their distinct narratives through the lens of urban and personal identity.

G.A.S. Foundation has once again partnered with Tilga Art Prize to host the winner of the annual open call at G.A.S. for an all-expenses paid residency. Tilga Art Prize are welcoming submissions from artists between the ages of 18 and 30 working and living in Nigeria, or of Nigerian descent. Applicants are invited to submit proposals as individuals or as groups across a variety of creative disciplines that include photography, painting, sculpture, illustration or multidisciplinary arts.

Architecture Photographer in residence at G.A.S. Foundation, Amanda Iheme, invites you to apply for a research workshop for research-oriented practitioners. From seasoned researchers to budding creatives, this opportunity allows selected participants to engage with titles from the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive in a supportive, collaborative environment. Segments of the workshop will include an information session on research methods and a series of reading sessions, which will be punctuated by presentations of research findings, and joint discussions.

In African Glass Futures, guests received an introductory talk through glass production, and its role in traditional societies around the world as currencies, markers of class, and glassmaking as a coveted skill. The evening uncovered RCABLK resident, Graeme Smith's expertise as a glass sculptor, ceramicist and researcher of traditional and contemporary glass-making techniques.

Attendees also had the unique opportunity to view and interact with a curated collection of glass pieces from Bida, Niger state, crafted by Masagá glassmakers, whose traditional practice is now an endangered Nigerian Middle-Belt glassmaking tradition. Pieces were loaned by Lesley Lababidi, Ambassador of Nupe Cultural Heritage, and exhibited alongside Graeme's sculptures and experiments inspired by African glass histories.

The talk drew provocations from a reading of Saidiya Hartman's Wayward Lives Beautiful Experiments, paving the way for discourse on cultural perceptions of manual labour and handwork. 

Re:assemblages (2024-25) is a support structure and programme initiated by G.A.S. Foundation that explores the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive as a site of rhizomatic exchange. Through a series of activations, the programme aims to foster discursive dialogues and actions on African art publications.

In 2012, instrumental symposium Condition Report: Symposium on Building Art Institutions in Africa was held in Dakar to address the changing role of art institutions and initiatives in Africa in a decade that witnessed the emergence of a various independent art spaces. 12 years on, Re:assemblages poses new critical questions focused on the creative potential of libraries sustained by art institutions in the African continent.