African Arts Libraries Lab (AAL Lab) Network
The African Arts Libraries Lab (AAL Lab) and Affiliates Network was launched by Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation and Yinka Shonibare Foundation in 2025. The AAL Lab brings together Africa-based libraries, publishers, and archival initiatives, while the Affiliates Network connects global institutions and supporters who champion and resource this work internationally.
The Lab and Network builds connections between Africa-based libraries, archival initiatives, and independent publishers, alongside global institutions and supporters. The Lab and Network are alive and evolving, growing organically through shared interests, common challenges, and a readiness to explore new ways of working together.
In its inaugural cycle (2025-26), the Lab and Network will be incubated within Re:assemblages, a roaming programme led by G.A.S. and Y.S.F., designed to foster experimentation and collaboration among African and diasporic art libraries and archives. This work builds on the G.A.S. Foundation’s own library and archives, including the Picton Collection comprising 1,500 volumes collected over six decades by Professor John Picton, Emeritus Professor of African Art at SOAS University of London, and Sue Picton.
The AAL Lab and Affiliates Network embraces an expanded notion of archives, libraries, and publishing, including educational and non-collection-based practices. Explore our current members.
To enquire more about membership, contact our Project Lead, Naima Hassan, at library@guestartistsspace.com.
Membership depends on location:
- Institutions based in Africa, or operating in Africa and internationally: join the AAL Lab
- Institutions based outside Africa: join the Affiliates Network