The organisers of ART X Lagos kicked off activities for their fourth annual showcase at an event in Lagos on Thursday.

This year a total of 21 leading international art galleries have been scheduled to feature at the event which holds at the Federal Palace in Victoria Island from November 1 to November 3.

They include a strong host of Nigerian galleries like The Space, Bloom Art, Nike Art Gallery, Retro Africa, SMO Contemporary, as well as the addition of Mydrim Gallery, amongst others.

Ed Cross Fine Art (United Kingdom), Everard Read (South Africa), Galerie Voss (Germany), Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Côte d’Ivoire), Goodman Gallery (South Africa) and LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery (Côte d’Ivoire) also make up some of the new international exhibitors who will showcase at the event.

Thursday night also saw the anticipated reveal of the lineup for the 2019 edition of ART X Live!

This year the show will celebrate some of Lagos’ most exciting emerging and underground mavericks.

2019 line-up will also feature visual art by Dafe Oboro and Joy Matashi; live performances from WurlD, Lady Donli, and Buju; with TMXO brought in as the show’s producer, curated by Lanre Masha (Music) and Faridah Folawiyo (Art).

The founder and director, ART X Lagos, Tokini Peterside, also announced the introduction of a Performance Art section in the 2019 edition.

Curated by artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji, The Performance Art Pavilion will feature a series of performances exploring the connection between art and ethics.

Titled ‘Small Acts’, this section will comprise of three live performances by Nigerian artists Ngozi Schommers, Eca Eps, and Taiwo Aiyedogbon.

A number of exciting artists from across the continent and beyond will also showcase this year.

They include Abe Odedina (Nigeria / UK / Brazil), Soly Cissé (Senegal), Sam Nhlengethwa (SouthAfrica), Tizta Berhanu (Ethiopia), Peju Alatise (Nigeria), and Lady Skollie (South Africa) who make up some of the 70 plus exhibiting artists.

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The Fourth Edition of the fair also sees the introduction of ART X Modern, a new section dedicated to celebrating pioneers of African modern art from the 20th century.

This section will comprise of three galleries: Bloom Art (Nigeria), Mydrim Gallery (Nigeria) and Gallery 1957 (Ghana), featuring artists such as Professor Ablade Glover (Ghana), Uche Okeke (Nigeria), and Obiora Udechukwu (Nigeria), amongst other well reputable names.

Also at the gathering, Etinosa Yvonne, a self-taught documentary photographer, based in Abuja, originally from Benin City, was revealed as the winner of the 2019 Access Bank ART X.

The organisers said she would claim the winnings of a cash grant of N 1,500,000, a three-month residency at Gasworks, London, in 2020, and a solo presentation at ART X Lagos in 2020.

Launched in 2016, ART X Lagos is designed to showcase the best and most innovative contemporary art from the African continent and the diaspora.

The organisers said this year, the fair will deliver an exciting program of specially curated projects, talks, and live events, to its broad audience of collectors, connoisseurs, cultural practitioners and art lovers.