ODBK – AAF Partnership

Who is ODBK?
ODBK first launched in 2017, titled “Organization for the Democratization of the Visual Arts”. In 2021
our program “Equality and Diversity Certification” providing us distinction within the arts market,
focusing on progressive economic systems, a more democratic world and increased accessibility in
the art world. Our programmes became recognised and a step ahead, demonstrating our commitment
in making the art world more inclusive.
ODBK’s aim is to see a bigger number of active participants in the decision making that defines the
current and future art world. By decision making, ODBK refers to the ability to influence the selection
of artists in art spaces – public or private, known or unknown, the relevance and importance of artists
and their works for the art world, cap-prices of artworks, and distribution of public funds for the arts.
ODBK argues that this should be done and decided without influence from factors such as income,
gender, nationality, social status and any other potentially altering kind of identity.
The ODBK has two main functions. The first is the facilitation of the understanding and appreciation of
contemporary art for a wider number of people – realized through educational talks, events, and online
and offline meetings.
Some of the main mechanisms that facilitate the implementation of ODBK as a concept are the Art
Market Regulation Commission (AMARC), the Pure Taste Indicator (PTI) and the Equality and
Diversity Certification for Museums and Art Institutions.
Projects
AMARC
● Democratic body with coalition of three groups; decision-making in the market and
contemporary art world through a democratic process.
● Constituted by three groups: Institutions, artists and Art Lovers.
● “Participatory Economy” – decision-making is proportional to the degree to which it is affected
by the outcome of a decision (Michael Alberts, 1991).

EMAMI Conference “Empowering Artists and Minorities”
● Online conference combined with project certifications. It invites individuals and organisations
to discuss EDI practices, share research and propose more viable systems of equality and
diversity.
● This conference offers three days of lectures, workshops and discussions;
● Platform to promote curatorial decision-making within the contemporary art world at an
institutional level. Consolidate proposals that can serve as an international guide for art
instituions.

Initiatives
Dei4.art x Generative AI
● An evolving free-access platform created to provide resources, policies, tools and case
studies around EDI in art institutions.
● LinkedIn-based professional forum for knowledge exchange and networking.
● Opportunity to break through barriers and gain new visibility in the art world.
● Online course launched in June 2025, focused on teaching artists how to use and take
advantage of Generative AI. This is possible through the Erasmus+ program and the
consortium of the ODBK, NIN3 Group and the Bauhaus Cafe.

Pure Taste Indicator (PTI)
● Consensus-based system that allows artists’ works to be assessed based on parameters
such as conceptual content, artistic quality, cultural significance and societal impact.
● Scores are generated through input by AMARC members. Artists can request evaluation and
feedback through its own system T‑Evaluations.

Who is AAF ?
African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) founded in 2007, Lagos, Nigeria,by Azu Nwagbogu, is a
community focused, decentralized, multivalent, metamorphic art space that embraces
experimental artistic principles in supporting boundary-breaking and artistic ideas. Over the
years, AAF has evolved beyond the limiting shell of a non-profit, to embody an art space that is
responsive, attuned to social justice issues, ecology, freedom, community initiatives by
empowering creative expression.
AAF is dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of contemporary art,
design, and culture through residencies, workshops, innovative exhibitions, and educational
programs. We aim to further challenge and inspire our community, unearth and develop talent
while also promoting inclusiveness. Our goal is to be a dynamic and interactive space that sparks
meaningful dialogue and encourages critical thinking, celebrates community programs and
ultimately to become a change-maker through the power of art.

PROJECTS
LAGOSPHOTO FESTIVAL
Launched in 2010, LagosPhoto is an international photography festival presented in Nigeria. In a
month-long festival, events include exhibitions, workshops, artist presentations, discussions and
large scale outdoor prints displayed throughout the city with the aim of reclaiming public spaces
and engaging the general public with multifaceted stories of Africa. LagosPhoto Festival aims to
establish a community for contemporary photography which will unite local and international
artists through images that encapsulate individual experiences and identities from across all of

Africa. LagosPhoto presents and educates about photography as it is embodied in the
exploration of historical and contemporary issues, the sharing of cultural practices, and the
promotion of social programmes.
LagosPhoto Festival 2025
In 2025, LagosPhoto Festival transitioned to Biennale with its 2025 edition Themed
‘Incarceration’.
Curated by Courage Kpodo, Robin Riskin, and Maria Pia Bernadoni, with assistance from
Kadara Enyeasi, the 2025 edition will feature commissioned works from artists and diverse
curations of incarceration perspectives. For the 15th edition of the annual LagosPhoto Festival,
LagosPhoto Festival challenges artists to liberate narratives that are powerful artefacts of our
time.
Slated for October 25 – November 29, 2025, LagosPhoto Festival is proud to announce its
expansion beyond Lagos. This year, the festival extends to Ibadan through a dynamic
collaboration with New Culture Studios.
This partnership marks a significant milestone in LagosPhoto’s mission to decentralize visual
culture and deepen its geographical impact. By bridging Lagos and Ibadan, the festival invites
audiences to engage with photography as a tool for cultural dialogue, memory and
transformation across regional lines.
PUBLICATIONS
1. Dey Your Lane! (2016): ‘Dey your Lane!’ is a typical Lagos expression for ‘mind your own
business’. When you realise that Lagos is one of the fastest growing cities in the world,
with a population of over 18 million, you can imagine this phrase comes in handy. Dey
Your Lane! 2016 is a compilation with photography, video and soundscapes from the
exhibition, depicting the individualistic and creative dynamic generated by the huge city.
See how the inhabitants of this megalopolis appropriate the public space and make their
personal and collective ambitions come true. This exhibition is accompanied by a great
selection of Nigerian cinema, literature and contemporary dance.

2. Africa Under The Prism (LagosPhoto 2010-2015): The book encompasses the inaugural
edition leveraged on Nigeria’s 50 years of Independence and was curated by Azu
Nwagbogu, Caline Chagoury and Marc Prust. Participating photographers were required
to have worked in Lagos, Nigeria or in Africa shooting works that interpreted the theme
‘No Judgement: Africa Under the Prism’.

DIG WHERE YOU STAND – FROM COAST TO COAST
Dig Where You Stand – From Coast to Coast is a series of exhibitions, offering a new model of
engagement with questions of decolonization, restitution and repatriation. Developed around the
idea of regeneration, the exhibition becomes an experimental site for capital, ecology and
resources repatriation both tangible and symbolic, an exercise in the reclamation of the
commons. By shifting the decolonial paradigm away from Western museums towards a location-

specific, solution-oriented approach, the exhibition explores the regenerative potential of art
across the African continent and its diasporas.
The title of the exhibition is derived from “Gräv där du står”, by Swedish author Sven Lindqvist,
who drew inspiration from public history campaigns in sixties post-revolutionary China. The
resultant movement encouraged workers to research and write about the history of their
workplaces, and counter the version of events told exclusively from the point of view of their
employers. We frame the project as loci for art making using imagination and collaborative labour
that involves communities.
The project has traveled through several African coastal cities, including Ghana, Togo, Portugal,
Benin, and Lagos, with the last iteration launched in Abidjan.
Hosted by Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Dig Where You Stand- Abidjan featured a live artist talk by
Adetola Akerele and Olufèmi Hinson, reflecting on diasporic memory and artistic legacy. It also
aimed to select three artists through portfolio review to participate in the next iteration in 2026 in
Dakar, curated by Olufèmi Hinson Yovo.
Some artists featured in previous iterations of Dig Where You Stand include ; Zanele Muholi,
Ralph Borland, Raquel van Haver, Yusuff Aina, Ibrahim Mahama, Adeju Thompson, Louis Oke-
Agbo, Victor Ehikhamenor, Joana Choumali, Gerald Chukwuma, Romeo Mivakennain, Tola
Wewe, Charbel Coffi and Silvia Rossi.

Youth Empowerment Through Contemporary Art (YECA)
(YECA) is an outreach program, targeting the student population of selected public secondary
schools in Lagos through art courses, mentorship, and exhibition opportunities. The pilot of this
intervention program was initiated by Ford Foundation and African Artists’ Foundation to train
120 students in art in several public secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria in 2014 and 2015 with
the aim of providing opportunities for the acquisition of livelihood by young people.
The aim of YECA is to provide vocational training, the acquisition of livelihood skills, a solid
extracurricular outlet for youths in secondary schools and to position art as a viable career path.
YECA empowers the youth with an outlet for creative expression through exhibition of their works
in public spaces such as galleries and festivals, and to promote the use of contemporary art to
highlight the experiences of the youth in Nigerian society. With past support from organisations
such as the Ford Foundation, AAF has collaborated with several schools within Lagos, offering
their students art classes and revising the visual art curriculum.

AIMS OF THIS JOINT PARTNERSHIP
Transparency of initiatives and goals are:
● Reveal and gather facts about the current selection processes and the ways in which leading
art institutions engage with artists and communities.
● Create a platform for dialogue that helps identify and address systemic inequalities, lack of
diversity, exclusion, and discrimination that persist in the art world.
● Propose actionable solutions and suggest mechanisms that can promote equality, diversity,
inclusion, and transparency in the art world.
● Expand opportunities for a broader and more diverse group of artists, fostering inclusivity in
programming, representation, and collection practices.

Edna Santos 14/07/2025
Vetum Galadima 14/07/2025