On September 3rd, 2025, G.A.S. Lagos hosted Picturing Return: Afro-Brazilian Archives in Nigeria, an evening that traced the histories, images, and narratives of the Aguda community and their enduring presence in Nigeria. Bringing together Pelumi Odubanjo whose practice examines the historical and contemporary links between Brazil and the West African diaspora, and scholar, curator, and researcher Oludamola Adebowale, the event explored the living archive of Afro-Brazilian presence in Nigeria

The AAL Lab Convenings, titled Contemporary Art and Archive Practices in Context, are a series of public events that bring together the African Arts Libraries Lab (AAL Lab), its Affiliates Network, and wider audiences to engage in research-sharing and dialogue on contemporary art and archival practice. Informed by the conceptual threads of Re:assemblages 2025–26—Ecotones, The Short Century, Annotations, and The Living Archive—each convening features reflections from invited speakers and the AAL Lab’s inaugural cohort alongside contributions from the broader public.

We are excited to welcome Pelumi Odubanjo, a British-Nigerian curator, writer, and researcher, to G.A.S. Lagos as our last resident in August. Based between London and Glasgow, Pelumi’s practice spans photography, multidisciplinary research, curatorial work, and ecology. Currently a PhD candidate in History of Art at the University of Glasgow and a James McCune Smith Scholar, her work engages with photographic archives, artists, and cultural artefacts to explore dialogues across global Black diasporas and geographies.