Paula Nascimento curates Sharjah Biennial 17; Abidemi Babatunde Babalola and Fred Kuwornu recognised for their contributions to historical research; Spotlighting Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku's practice
Paula Nascimento Appointed Curator of Sharjah Biennial 17
Sharjah Art Foundation has announced the appointment of Paula Nascimento as one of the two curators of Sharjah Biennial 17. She will partner with Angela Harutyunyan, a Professor of Contemporary Art and Theory, Berlin University of the Arts.
Born in 1981 in Luanda, Angola, Paula Nascimento is an architect and independent curator based in Luanda. Her practice is rooted at the intersection of visual arts, urbanism, geopolitics and arts education. Nascimento engages with interdisciplinary methodologies with a focus on contemporary readings of historical themes in and around Africa and the Global South.
Paula Nascimento says, ‘I am interested in thinking with artists and in the articulations between artmaking and infrastructure in an expanded way, as well as exploring art's capacity to imagine and propose spaces and other worlds and forms of relations.’
Nascimento and Harutyunyan will collaboratively explore new contemporary realities and shape the Biennial as a space for critical reflection and experimental exhibition-making through a wide range of artistic projects presented in sites across Sharjah.
Abidemi Babatunde Babalola and Fred Kuwornu Receive 2025 Dan David Prize
Nigerian archaeologist and scholar Abidemi Babatunde Babalola and Italian-Ghanaian-American filmmaker and artist Fred Kuwornu have been awarded the Dan David Prize, the world’s largest award for historical scholarship. They will receive $300,000 USD each in recognition of their contributions to historical research.
Abidemi Babatunde Babalola is an anthropological archaeologist who currently serves as the lead archaeologist on the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) Archaeology Project, in Benin City, Nigeria, within the British Museum’s Department of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas (AOA). Prior to his role in AOA, he was a Mellon postdoctoral fellow in the Scientific Research Department of the British Museum, where he focused on the collection of copper alloy objects from the Lower Niger Region of Nigeria.
Fred Kuwornu is a multi-hyphenate, socially engaged artist, filmmaker, educator and cultural innovator, whose work – deeply influenced by his African heritage – transcends traditional narrative boundaries, exploring the complex intersections of identity, race and historical representation. His latest film, We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, was featured at the 60th Venice Art Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, in 2024. His work bridges past and present, the hegemonic and subaltern, the seen and the unseen, making it a vital contribution to contemporary visual culture. His curatorial vision is a form of historical reconfiguring of archival materials, hidden histories and contemporary narratives, thereby challenging conventional perspectives. Possessing triple citizenship (Italian, Ghanaian and American), Kuwornu brings a unique transnational perspective to his creative and scholarly endeavors.
The Dan David Prize is the largest history prize in the world with an annual purse of $3 million. They award up to nine prizes of $300,000 each year to outstanding early and midcareer scholars and practitioners in the historical disciplines.
Art X Lagos Returns for its Tenth Edition
Art X Lagos is 10! From November 6th to 9th 2025, the fair will welcome international and local galleries and several commissioned special projects and performances, responding to the theme: Imagining Otherwise, No Matter the Tide.
In the last ten years, Art X Lagos has been at the forefront of African creativity, community and transformation, connecting artists, performers, collectors, and communities across the continent and beyond. In the last couple of years, Art X has expanded their programs through ART X Live!, ART X Cinema, ART X Talks, Art Across Borders, and the ART X Prize, to start and continue the dialogue around African art.
Artist Spotlight: Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku
Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku (b.1994) is a multidisciplinary artist and civil engineer based in Ghana. His practice is deeply personal, drawing on memories of his grandmother’s fabric collection and the textile culture surrounding Ghana’s markets and waste sites. Working primarily with second-hand clothing found on beaches, landfills, and in Accra’s Kantamanto Market—the largest resale hub for used textiles in Ghana—Tieku reclaims discarded garments as vessels of memory. Using dyeing and assemblage techniques, he reconfigures these materials to evoke questions about identity, overconsumption, and the enduring imprint of colonialism.
Tieku was recently announced as the winner of the fifth edition of the ellipse prize, dedicated this year to Ghana’s emerging contemporary art scene. He will receive a production grant, tailored professional support, and international exposure through a dedicated communication campaign. His work will also be featured in a solo exhibition during the AKAA – Also Known As Africa fair in Paris, taking place from October 24 to 26, 2025.
On view:
In the Quiet of Repair: Wunika Mukan Gallery presents the works of Ojooluwatide Ojo as she reflects on how spaces and people evolve alongside one another, holding stories, and signs of wear through time. (June 7 – June 22, 2025)
Of Movement, Materials and Methods: A solo exhibition by Modupeola Fadugba at Gallery 1957, London. (May 22 – June 29, 2025)
time heals, just not quick enough: Curated by Ose Ekore, Efie Gallery features works by contemporary artists across generations– Samuel Fosso, Aïda Muluneh, Kelani Abass, Abeer Sultan, and Sumayah Fallatah. (June 1 – July 30, 2025)
