A Shared Gaze will create a meeting point for female artists, collectors and established figures in Nigerian art, with a focus on visibility, mentorship and opportunities for creative exchange.
As Lagos Art Week brings together artists, collectors and other participants in the city’s art scene, the Fonb Collection is preparing a private gathering that will place women artists at the centre of the conversation.
Titled A Shared Gaze: Women, Art & Strength in Company, the event will bring selected female artists into direct conversation with patrons and collectors. The Fonb Collection, a global private art collection focused on supporting artists and building relationships between creators and patrons, sees the gathering as an opportunity to strengthen the links between artistic practice and the support needed to sustain it.
Rather than limit the evening to an exhibition of their work, the organisers intend to give the artists an opportunity to discuss their practice, share the stories behind their work and build relationships with people who can support their careers.
The gathering will also bring different generations of Nigerian art together. Artists Bruce Onobrakpeya and Tola Wewe are expected to share their experience and perspectives, drawing on careers that have contributed to the development of Nigerian and African art. Their participation places established artistic voices alongside women whose work and careers the event seeks to support.
This exchange is central to the event’s approach. Visibility remains important for artists, but access to collectors, commissions and sustained patronage can also influence whether a creative practice develops into a viable career. By bringing artists and potential supporters into the same room, the Fonb Collection hopes to encourage relationships that continue beyond the gathering.
The event’s invitation offers another indication of its interest in emerging voices. It features artwork by Ysabella Olufon, a 15-year-old artist and daughter of the collection’s founders. Her inclusion introduces a younger perspective to a gathering focused on women’s artistic expression and the relationship between established practitioners and the next generation.
For the Fonb Collection, the idea behind A Shared Gaze is to create a setting in which women artists are recognised not only for the work they produce, but also as people whose experiences and perspectives deserve attention. The collection describes the gathering as an opportunity to connect artists with viewers, mentors with emerging voices, and creators with collectors.
The emphasis on economic exchange is also significant. An event can bring attention to an artist’s work, but the longer-term value lies in what follows: new commissions, collaborations, collector relationships and other forms of support. The organisers hope the gathering will help create some of these connections.
A Shared Gaze: Women, Art & Strength in Company will take place during Lagos Art Week. Attendance is by invitation only.
