By Sewe Ishola,

Art will once more take centrestage as the second edition of the International Contemporary Art Fair, popularly called Art X holds in Lagos.

The Art Fair which showcases the best and most innovative contemporary art from the African continent is set to welcome 13 international galleries and over 60 artistes from 14 countries.

According to Art X Lagos founder, Tokini Peterside, this year’s edition will be building on last year’s success which saw an audience of over 5000.

ART X Lagos 2017 will take place at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, from November 3rd to 5th. The November 3rd event will include an invitation-only VIP Preview, then the art fair will open to the public from Saturday 4th to Sunday 5th November 2017.

The 13 exhibiting galleries for the 2017 edition include: Art House – The Space (Nigeria), Bloom Art (Nigeria), Fondation Donwahi (Ivory Coast), Gallery 1957 (Ghana), Galerie Atiss (Senegal), Gallery MAM (Cameroon), Nubuke Foundation (Ghana), Retro Africa (Nigeria), Signature Beyond (Nigeria), SMO Contemporary (Nigeria), Stevenson Gallery (South Africa), TAFETA (United Kingdom), and Tiwani Contemporary (United Kingdom).

Notable artists among the 2017 line-up include the Nigerian-born, British-based artist and sculptor Yinka Shonibare MBE, as well as Zanele Muholi (South Africa), Jeremiah Quarshie (Ghana), Modupeola Fadugba (Nigeria), Nandipha Mntambo (Swaziland), Virginia Chihota (Zimbabwe), Boris Nzebo (Cameroon), Babajide Olatunji (Nigeria), Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum (Botswana), Amadou Sanogo (Mali) and Portia Zvavahera (Zimbabwe).

ART X Lagos has also invited independent artists, Polly Alakija, Rom Isichei, Lakin Ogunbanwo and Oluseye, to present a curated selection of their own works.

This year’s art fair will also include curated projects across performance art, installation, photography and video art, to create a conversational showpiece for ART X Lagos at The Civic Centre. The artists selected by curator Missla Libsekal are: Nástio Mosquito (Angola) and Pere Ortin, Lemi Ghariokwu (Lagos, Nigeria), Yaw Owusu (Accra, Ghana), Rahima Gambo (Abuja, Nigeria), Johnson Uwadinma (Port Harcourt, Nigeria), Olu Amoda (Lagos, Nigeria) and Wura Natasha Ogunji (Nigeria/USA). In addition, the Access Bank Collection will present to the general public, for the first ever in Nigeria, seven wooden sculptures by Ben Enwonwu MBE, originally commissioned by the Daily Mirror in 1960, to mark the artist’s 100th natal anniversary.