In 2024, Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation and Yinka Shonibare Foundation (Y.S.F.) were awarded a $220,000 grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art. The two-year funding supports CULTIVATION: Art, Environment & Materiality at the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ, offering residencies for American-based artists exploring ecology, agriculture, and sustainable material practices. The first artist in residence was Dr. Ietef Vita, who joined G.A.S. in August 2025.

From June 30th to July 11th, 2025, the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ hosted My Story of Food: On The Farm!, a two-week creative learning programme in partnership with the Five Cowries Arts Education Initiative (FCI). Bringing together teachers and students from St. John’s Primary School Ikiṣẹ, the programme transformed their classrooms into a collaborative space where food, art, and storytelling intertwined. Guided by Titilayo Mathias of FCI, with support from St. John’s teachers, sessions explored indigenous foods, food systems, and sustainability through hands-on workshops in doodling, stitching, and paper craft. Alongside nurturing creativity, critical thinking, and tactile skills, the programme also supported teachers with co-learning and facilitation models.

Join us at G.A.S. Lagos on 29th August 2025 for Open House, a film screening and presentation that offers a closer look at G.A.S. Foundation and the residencies and programmes we host throughout the year. Led by the G.A.S. team, guests will have the opportunity to learn more about the Foundation’s mission and residency opportunities before embarking on a guided tour of the building. The tour will include visits to the G.A.S. Library and the Picton Archive, as well as the spaces where artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners live and work.

Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dr Ietef Vita to G.A.S. Foundation for an immersive eight-week residency. Based in the United States, Ietef is an eco-hip-hop artist, educator, and vegan chef whose work rooted in Pan-African traditions bridges music, environmental activism, and ancestral foodways. Known professionally as DJ Cavem, his multidisciplinary practice spans painting, performance, sound, music, film, photography, textiles, and ecology. He harnesses hip-hop as a catalyst for climate justice, youth empowerment, and wellness, creating projects that range from multimedia albums and food justice curricula to international workshops fusing beat-making with soil science, herbalism, and culinary arts.

We are excited to welcome Nigerian interdisciplinary artist Olufela Omokeko for an eight-week residency at G.A.S. Foundation. His practice spans performance, installation, photography, video, and research, often engaging deeply with communities to address urgent sociocultural issues. Through his work, he explores the intersections of personal and collective experience, with recurring themes of psycho-social dynamics, mortality, food insecurity, preservation, and ecological challenges.