Exhibition - Field a(r)t work: experiencing lived spaces through research creation in Lagos and Osogbo

Based on two current fieldworks conducted in Osun Grove, Osogbo and Victoria Island, Lagos, this exhibition presented some of the materials produced during these research projects in order to capture and render the sensitive dimension of spaces. This visual and sound installation presented maps, photographs, and sound recordings. Te opening in the presence of the artist and researchers was held on April 5th, at 3pm in the Hall of the Institute of African Studies, UI. 

In these research projects, working with artists and/or using creative methods (such as drawing, photography, sound art, etc.) are conceived as a way to understand spaces and places in a more subjective, situated and ordinary perspective.
In Osun Grove, sensitive maps were realized by museum staff members. They reflect the grove as it is daily experienced by the staff members, beyond the institutional representations of this enlisted World Heritage site. In Victoria Island, creative methodologies were mobilized to explore the tangible and intangible effects of the disappearance of Bar Beach on the inhabitants who used to live or work nearby.
This exhibition was also  an opportunity to discuss the potentialities and challenges raised by using collaborative, sensitive and/or creative methodologies while doing research, especially in the African context.

Presented by: Eniola Afolayan (PhD student in anthropology, University of Virginia), Oluwaseyi Eniayo aka Soft Mix (sound artist), Dr Pauline Guinard (Associate Professor in geography, Ecole normale supérieure of Paris), Rémi Jenvrin (PhD student in geography, University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne).

Audience during the exhibition's opening.

Dr Pauline Guinard presenting the exhibition to primary school class.