This March, Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation, in partnership with the Yinka Shonibare Foundation (Y.S.F.), announced the call for the pilot edition of the G.A.S. Critical Writing Workshop, an initiative designed for the professional and critical development of emerging local art writers, researchers, and cultural practitioners, supported in partnership with Deutsche Bank.
Today, we are pleased to announce the pilot cohort of the G.A.S. Critical Writing Workshop: Adebowale Enitan, Adedapo Adeniyi , Kunle Whesu, Paul Ayihawu, Ugo Ude and Vetum Gima Galadima. The participants were selected by Olutomi Kassim, the current resident and recipient of the G.A.S. Fellowship Award 2026, who also serves as the facilitator of the workshop. We are grateful for her time and thoughtful consideration throughout the process.
Over the course of the three-day workshop at G.A.S. Lagos, the participants will engage in a dedicated programme of workshops, readings, and lectures. Across the intensive, participants will be supported in exploring critical art writing as a tool for activism, developing clear arguments and short texts on aspects of Nigerian art and activism, and situating their work within relevant scholarly and cultural debates. The programme also introduces research approaches grounded in Nigerian epistemologies, drawing on thinkers such as Chinweizu Ibekwe and Wole Soyinka, while creating space for guided writing exercises, peer exchange, and feedback. By the end of the workshop, each participant will have produced a draft article or structured outline that can be further developed for publication in BusinessDay Today, Nigeria.
The G.A.S. Critical Writing Workshop falls under the wider scope of Project Nexus, an ambitious residency and education programme designed to nurture and empower artists, art educators, art historians, and curators through a series of residencies, professional development workshops, and educational initiatives over three years. The project embodies the spirit of collaboration and cultural exchange that lies at the heart of both Foundations’ missions, aiming to encourage and cultivate artistic excellence and curatorial innovation. Project Nexus is generously supported by Deutsche Bank.
ABOUT THE COHORT
Adebowale Enitan
Adebowale Enitan is a Nigerian digital artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is an alumni of Concordia University, graduating with an MFA in Studio Arts, with a specialization in Photography. In his last photographic project, he focused on photographing the interactions between clients and barbers in African and Caribbean owned barbershops in Montreal. This project not only focused on men’s hair and its care, but also on how the barbershop space is a welcoming environment for men to express themselves. Though photography is his specialization, he also uses other mediums such as illustration to communicate his ideas to his audience, and it is currently his favorite medium. Adebowale’s current focus is on African symbols and their meanings. This also includes old and new writing systems developed by Africans for a respective language. Moving from studio portraiture and documentary photography to illustration, he was inspired by the symbols in textiles and their designs and began researching them to create different designs that communicate different statements to those who view them.
Adedapo Adeniyi
Adedapo Adeniyi is a Nigerian writer, filmmaker and photographer. His debut novella, Wanderer, got longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association Awards, he is a member of the ASFS(African Speculative Fiction Society) and BSFA(British Science Fiction Association). He was the Assistant Director for Olukemi Lijadu’s institutional film, Feedback. His essays and fiction have been published in Get Unruly Magazine, The 49th Street, Expat Press, Hobart Pulp, etc.
Kunle Whesu
Kunle Whesu is a Lagos-based speculative fiction writer, playwright, and lawyer whose multidisciplinary practice engages the complexities of the human condition. Drawing from a background in law, marketing, and product strategy, his work explores the intersections of storytelling, systems, and lived experience. Alongside his writing, he works as a curator. His exhibition The Mispredilections of Aboya, developed from his play of the same name, brought together 16 contemporary artists in a collaborative format that translated theatrical scenes into visual form. The project offered a compelling convergence of literature and exhibition-making and was described by Channels Television as “one of the most creatively inspiring art projects of the year.” Kunle’s writing has appeared in anthologies, and his practice is shaped by an ongoing interest in the philosophical and intellectual dimensions of narrative within an African context. Across his work, he returns to a central inquiry: how ideas move from abstraction to implementation, and how narrative frameworks shape the ways individuals understand and engage with the systems that structure their lives.
Paul Ayihawu
A dedicated curator, art writer, and contemporary artist, my work revolves around fostering inclusivity, supporting emerging talent, and amplifying the voices of local artists. With a particular focus on the Badagry region, I strive to decentralize the Lagos art ecosystem by nurturing a thriving creative community through workshops, mentorships, residencies, and exhibitions. My practice explores the intersection of contemporary art, heritage, and social development, aiming to inspire dialogue and empower artists and cultural thinkers to redefine the artistic narrative within their communities.
Ugo Ude
Ugo Ude’s practice is grounded in curiosity and commitment to democratizing knowledge. As an early-career researcher, her critical scrutiny embraces public history methods for reviving interest in African oral poetry. As an art writer, she is particularly interested in the intersection of an artists' lived experiences and their creative output. Beyond her research, Ugo is actively shaping how Nigerian art is perceived by enthusiasts through communications and curatorial roles within organizations such as OSENGWA and Kurating where she focuses on strengthening the “moving parts of the ecosystem.”
Vetum Galadima
Vetum Gima Galadima is an archaeologist - researcher, curator, artist - from Kaduna, Nigeria. She is the Project Coordinator for CBAAC/Goethe Institut/ EU Cluster in Nigeria and EUNIC Spaces of Culture project - Roots and Roofs , (a creative project on the documentation and re-interpretation of Indigenous Nigerian architectural heritage). Vetum’s curatorial and artistic practice explores the preservation and re-interpretation of indigenous knowledge systems, archives and history through various mediums like photography, film, gaming, tech, painting, textile and narrative storytelling. Vetum is a 2023 Africa No Filter/Open Country Curatorial Fellow and an Arts in Medicine Fellow. She curated the Photography Pavilion at Plus234Art Fair 2026. Her art/ conservation/restitution projects include “Among Us” - a growing artistic digital repository of Nok terracotta, artifacts and archival material from Northern Nigeria and IFRA Digitized Histories- “Ije Mmuo “, a comic book on Igbo spirituality and ancestral memory.
Her other projects include “Sarauniya Ene- The City Responds” (Goethe Institut- Dreaming New Worlds). The City Responds is an olfactory installation that explores the matriarchal legacy of Queen Amina of Zazzau through scent.
