Yinka Shonibare Foundation (Y.S.F.) and Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation are delighted to announce that they have been awarded a transformative $220,000 grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art. This significant two-year funding will support two major cross-cultural initiatives at G.A.S. residency locations in Ijebu and Lagos, fostering cultural exchange, ecological engagement, and archival preservation.
At the G.A.S. Farm House in Ijebu, the grant will fund CULTIVATION: Art, Environment & Materiality, a two-year programme introducing 10 residencies for American-based artists, particularly those with Indigenous, African, or multicultural heritage. These residencies will facilitate interdisciplinary exploration across the arts, ecology, agriculture, and sustainable material practices, fostering meaningful exchanges between artists, intellectuals, and local communities.
Guest Artists Space Farm House in Ijebu. Photography by Andrew Esiebo. Image © G.A.S. Foundation and Andrew Esiebo.
Meanwhile, at G.A.S. Lagos, the funding will establish the African Arts Libraries Lab (AAL Lab) and Conference, an initiative dedicated to fostering intra-African and global collaboration on African and Afro-diasporic library collections. Through a series of international workshops and collective experimentation sessions, the AAL Lab will convene archivists, librarians, artists, curators, and cultural institutions to explore innovative approaches to preservation and restitution. This initiative will culminate in a landmark two-day interdisciplinary conference, bringing together scholars, publishers, and practitioners to examine restitution, with a focus on underrepresented African and Afro-diasporic archival publications.
2024 residents Liz Kobusinge and Theophilus Imani presenting their Annotations Shadow Box at École du Festival Study Day, Session Two, presented on 6th November 2024. Image © G.A.S. Foundation.
Aligned with the Terra Foundation’s commitment to generating knowledge, centring excluded voices, and fostering inclusive and equitable practices, these initiatives challenge conventional narratives while strategically expanding dialogues around American art through interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-continental exchange.
Header Image: Residents and guests engaging with the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive. Image © G.A.S. Foundation and Andrew Esiebo.
Press Enquiries
Yinka Shonibare Foundation: Magda Kaggwa | magda@yinkashonibarefoundation.com
Guest Artists Space Foundation: info@guestartistsspace.com
