This month, we are highlighting recent achievements from members of the G.A.S. alumni community. Since 2022, our residents and fellows have continued to develop ambitious practices across disciplines and geographies. July has seen alumni recognised through prestigious awards, international exhibitions, film festivals, and major professional opportunities, underscoring the lasting impact of the relationships and research fostered during their time at G.A.S. Foundation.
Kush Badhwar Announced as Participant in Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2026
Following his recent residency at G.A.S. Foundation, where he researched Lagos' riparian zones: its coastlines, wetlands, bridges, and the spaces between land and water, Kush Badhwar has been announced as a participant in the third edition of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial (SAT03). Titled Architecture Otherwise: Building Civic Infrastructure for Collective Futures, the Triennial will run from 14 November 2026 to 14 April 2027. Curated by Vyjayanthi Rao, with Tau Tavengwa as Associate Curator, the exhibition will feature Kush's work exploring the ecological and social consequences of the Navi Mumbai International Airport through a film developed from the perspectives of affected communities.
Still from Kush’s film Blood Earth (2013).
Kosisochukwu Nnebe Receives 2025–26 Joseph S. Stauffer Prize Following First Toronto Solo Exhibition
Kosisochukwu Nnebe, a 2024 recipient of the G.A.S. Fellowship Award and a recent residency exchange awardee with the Floating Museum, Chicago, has been named the Visual Arts recipient of the 2025-26 Joseph S. Stauffer Prize by the Canada Council for the Arts. Awarded alongside Clémence Dumas-Côté (Literature) and Aquakultre (Music), the Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes recognise emerging and mid-career Canadian artists (with fewer than 15 years of professional practice) who demonstrate exceptional artistic promise. Established through a bequest from Joseph S. Stauffer, the prizes support outstanding talent across music, visual arts, and literature. Last month, she also presented Rootwork, her first solo exhibition in Toronto. Bringing together work developed since 2022, the exhibition explored transformation through materials such as food, starch, and cassava, tracing the spiritual, political, and economic histories of Black and Indigenous peoples across the Atlantic.
Photo of Kosisochukwu Nnebe. Image courtesy of the artist.
Ofem Ubi Presents Solo Exhibition Stemming from His 2024 G.A.S. Foundation Residency Workshop
Ofem Ubi, a two-time G.A.S. resident, poet, and artist whose practice explores the poetic through visual forms presents Collage, Lagos a new solo exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos curated by Chris Udoh. Building on work developed during his 2025 Tetskin Talo residency in Helsinki and his 2024 G.A.S. Lagos end-of-residency workshop, Functions of Humor, the exhibition brings to Lagos a participatory poetry installation first presented as Collage, Helsinki at the Runokuu Festival. Part of the wider project, The Global Cento, the exhibition invites visitors to contribute their own memories, words, and voices to unfinished poems, creating a collaborative archive of intercultural and intergenerational experiences. Inspired by the 37 writers and artists who participated in the Helsinki edition, Collage, Lagos asks how people across the city, writers and non-writers alike, remember, reflect, and express their lived experiences through poetry.
Exhibition Details
Dates: 1 - 3 August, 2026.
Venue: CCA, Lagos, 9 McEwen Street, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos
Opening Hours: 12 - 4 PM (Saturday and Sunday); 11 AM - 5 PM (Monday)
Ofem Ubi presenting alongside Joladé Olusanya reading a poem to the audience at Functions of Humor, presented on 13th December, 2024.
Chidimma Nwafor Named Among Five Finalists for the 2026 Anna Awards
Following her participation in the 2025 Deutsche Bank-funded Ìmòra Arts Intensive at G.A.S. Foundation, delivered in partnership with Yinka Shonibare Foundation, Chidimma Nwafor has been named one of five finalists for the 2026 ANNA Award, alongside Láura Viruly (South Africa), Mankebe Seakgoe (South Africa), Yasmeen Abdalah (Sudan), and Zara Julius (South Africa). A Lagos-based painter, Chidimma creates figurative oil paintings that explore imagined memory, dreams, and the emotional spaces between presence and absence, where memory, imagination, and reality converge. Selected from applicants across 21 African countries, this year's finalists reflect the growing reach and diversity of the ANNA Award, celebrating women-identifying artists from across the continent.
As part of the award, the public is invited to vote for their favourite finalist to receive the Audience Award.
Two Days and a Lifetime. 60.9cm × 91.4cm (each), diptych. Image courtesy of Chidimma Nwafor.
Sasha Huber's ROSA Selected for Helsinki International Film Festival Following Moldejazz Appointment
Swiss-Haitian visual artist Sasha Huber has been appointed Festival Artist for Moldejazz 2026, while her short film ROSA has been selected for the R&A Shorts: National Competition at the 39th Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy. During her residency, Sasha developed a commemorative portrait of Bisi Silva, founder of the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos which reflects Bisi's lasting impact on artistic and curatorial practice.
Based in Helsinki, Sasha's multidisciplinary practice explores decolonisation, historical memory, and racial justice through film, photography, archival research, and installation. At Moldejazz, her exhibition invites the public to engage with collective memory, dialogue, and shared histories. Meanwhile, ROSA (2025) is one of 35 films selected from a record 211 submissions for the National Competition, recognising it among Finland's leading short films of 2025. The film traces the life of Rosa Emilia Clay (1875–1959), the first African-born person to be granted Finnish citizenship. The festival runs from 17–27 September, with National Competition screenings taking place 18–22 September.
(L) Potrait of Sasha Huber. Photo: Kai Kuusisto. (R) The Firsts - Bisi Silvia (2025), renowned and pioneering curator, and founder of the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos. 2025. Image courtesy of the artist.
Femi Johnson and Nathalie Eggenschwiler Announce their Marriage
Femi Johnson and Nathalie Eggenschwiler, both former G.A.S. Foundation residents, announced their marriage in Switzerland through Instagram. Although the couple did not meet through their residencies, both have been part of the G.A.S. community. Femi was one of seven artists selected for the inaugural G.A.S. Fellowship Award in 2022, where his residency explored questions surrounding the evolving human experience and its relationship to art across physical, virtual, and augmented realities. In 2025, Nathalie undertook a G.A.S. residency supported through a partnership with Pro Helvetia, researching Nigerian textile traditions by engaging with artisans, traders, and designers to explore connections between Swiss and Nigerian craft.
(L) Photo of Femi Johnson. Image courtesy of the artist. (R) Photo of Nathalie Eggenschwiler.