The Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA) at Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos has been selected as one of 66 partner institutions in the 2026 cohort of TheMuseumsLab, a professional development and exchange initiative organised jointly by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
The museum will host its first international residency programme in September 2026, receiving two museum professionals from Uganda and the United Kingdom. This year’s programme is themed “Building Futures from Memory: Museums and Memorial Sites as Agents,” with a focus on community engagement, justice and reconciliation. Funding comes from Germany’s Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Federal Foreign Office.
YSMA’s admission makes it the first Nigerian university art museum to join the platform, which spans institutions across Africa and Europe.
Museum Director Jess Castellote said the partnership positioned YSMA as more than a repository of art.
“Hosting a residency of this nature allows us to contribute meaningfully to the development of museum professionals across continents, while also bringing global perspectives into our local context,” he said.
Solveig Rietschel, Head of TheMuseumsLab, described the residency as a platform for exchange between African and European professionals, adding that such partnerships were central to building sustainable, collaborative futures for museums across both continents.
Founded at Pan-Atlantic University, YSMA was named Museum Opening of the Year by Apollo Magazine in 2020. The museum holds an extensive collection spanning centuries of Nigerian art and runs a programme of exhibitions and educational initiatives aimed at both academic and public audiences.
