Goethe-Institut Nigeria and the Residency Re-Sourced programme are set to host a pivotal public lecture exploring the resilience and innovative strategies of independent art spaces across Africa. Titled “Institution-Building Tactics and Artistic Thinking in Independent Art Spaces,” the virtual event on August 6, 2025, promises to delve into what sustains these vital cultural hubs amidst challenging social, political, and economic landscapes.
Independent art spaces have become crucial centers for cultural production, experimentation, and community engagement throughout the continent. They often navigate limited resources through inventive models of institution-building and unique artistic thinking. This lecture aims to theorize their resilience, viewing these spaces not merely as physical locations but as dynamic frameworks shaped by history, local conditions, and collective agency.
The discussion will explore how independent art spaces, particularly artist residencies, generate knowledge, foster mobility, and reimagine institutional possibilities for the future of creative practice in Africa.
Kim Gurney, a distinguished writer, researcher, and artist from Cape Town, South Africa, will deliver the lecture. Dr. Gurney’s work often examines “offspaces” – from art collectives to artisanal workshops – as sites of alternative imaginaries and hidden narratives. She is the author of several books, including Panya Routes: Independent Art Spaces in Africa (2022) and Flipside: The Inadvertent Archive (2024), which trace art’s role in resistance and public reimagination.
The lecture will be co-discussed and moderated by Tony Agbapuonwu, a curator from Lagos, Nigeria. The event will be held online via Zoom Online (Zoom) — https://goethe-institut.zoom.us/j/89271774711?pwd=kGvb4FdHAvsRFaVdRbhCDbyuVTsb5U.1 Passcode: 0L.DUg
at 4pm (WAT) and is free and open to all artists, curators, cultural workers, residency organizers, and anyone interested in the future of creative practice and cultural infrastructure on the continent. French interpretation will be available.
