LagosPhoto Festival Still Going Strong for 15 Years

The 15th LagosPhoto Festival opened to the public this past Saturday on the 25th of October 2025 at African Artists’ Foundation, VI, Lagos. The festival which started as a platform to showcase the artists and talents of Nigeria to the world has now become a festival known globally as one that addresses issues of our contemporary times. The theme of this year’s biennial event, “Incarceration”, reflects the evolution of the festival through the years in being at the forefront of social commentary.

At the opening, guests were welcomed with a musical performance which brought the energy of the festival grounds up, with rhythmic percussion and guitars foreshadowing what would be an entertaining and lively evening. The host of the opening ceremony and curator of the festival, Vetum Galadima, acknowledged some of the curators on the project, with each addressing the audience: Courage Dzidula Kpodo — lead curator, graduate of MIT and architect from Ghana; Maria Pia Bernardoni — international projects facilitator from Italy; and Robin Riskin — curator for special projects from New York, based in Ghana.

The curators encouraged the audience, as they immerse themselves in the displays and exhibitions, to consider what it means to make, share, and consume photography today especially in an event like this rooted in Lagos that is connected to so many roads and networks. The audience was also asked to learn from the artists and creatives who explore photography through different channels, mediums and disciplines that run counter to colonialism that was used to control, extract identity, knowledge and resources.

Artists present, including Yagazie Emezi, Arnold Fokam, Ayobami Ogungbe, spoke about their practice, the theme and the works that some would find in festival venues such as Freedom Park and Didi Museum. The theme of this year’s festival lends itself to several interpretations and experimentations, especially by moving away from the immediate heuristic of understanding as the prison system. The works of the festival are grounded in years of experience and research, and one may not take them at face value, but dig deeper to unlock the layered meanings.

All those present expressed gratitude towards Azu Nwagbogu, Director of LagosPhoto Festival and Founder of African Artists’ Foundation, for his community building and his push to elevate the medium of photography on the continent.

A representative of the long-time sponsor and supporter of LagosPhoto Festival, Canon, expressed their continued commitment to the festival, while encouraging people to tell stories of personal and societal importance. Sponsors and supporters, including National Geographic which would be conducting a workshop on the 28th and 29th of October at 16x16, also implored the audience to take our time to go through the photos on display at the festival.

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Going into the space one for the opening ceremony, one is greeted with a feast for not only the eyes but ears as well with audiovisual installation, as well as varied expressions and techniques, and unique applications of the medium of photography. The space was engulfed with the reverberations of conversations and faces taking in the pieces and collections on display from a few of the 90 plus artists which feature in the festival. If the opening is anything to go by, the audience — and Lagos — is in for a treat.

LagosPhoto Festival Still Going Strong for 15 Years was originally published in Umuala Journal on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.