Yinka Shonibare Announces Guest Artists Space Foundation Residency in Nigeria

Yinka Shonibare, a Royal Academician and Turner Prize nominee from 2004, will establish an artist residency program called the Guest Artists Space (GAS) Foundation at two Nigerian locations. The initiative expands his Guest Projects program, which previously provided London studio access. One site will be in Lagos, designed by Elsie Owusu Architects to include gallery, studio, and living areas. Another rural location in Ijebu, Ogun state, will feature agricultural elements like greenhouses and cashew nut trees. Funding primarily comes from the Yinka Shonibare Foundation, with trustees including El Anatsui, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Antony Gormley, and Olafur Eliasson. Shonibare aims to create infrastructure for cultural exchange between international and local artists, addressing limited development opportunities across Africa. He hopes the residency becomes operational by 2021.