In December 2025, G.A.S. Foundation, in partnership with the Yinka Shonibare Foundation, announced the call for the fourth edition of the G.A.S. Fellowship Award. This year, the award offered multiple fully funded residencies, including two slots dedicated to outstanding emerging African artists at the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikise under the African-Based and Diaspora Creatives category.
The call received over 90 applications from 12 different countries across the continent. A selection panel comprising G.A.S. Executive Director Moni Aisida, Y.S.F. CEO Belinda Holden, G.A.S. Communications and Events Coordinator Catherine Bardi, Re:assemblages Project Coordinator Samantha Russell, and Farm Residency Coordinator Funmilola Ogunshina carefully reviewed the applications and selected the Fellows. We thank them for their time and dedication throughout the process.
Today, we are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 G.A.S. Fellowship Award for the African-Based and Diaspora Creatives category: Akir Hall, a London-based biomaterial researcher, and Kevin-Ademola Sangosanya, a France-based experimental artist.
Akir is excited to leverage the G.A.S. Farm House as a site for observation and exchange, engaging with existing material cultures on and around the farm, including agricultural practices, food processing methods, and local craft techniques. These observations will inform the development of new biomaterial composites that are culturally relevant, accessible, and grounded in local knowledge. During the residency, Akir will lead a participatory workshop series focused on developing low-tech, circular biomaterials using agricultural and food waste from the G.A.S. farm and surrounding community. Kevin, meanwhile, plans to centre his residency on knowledge exchange with local communities, engaging with craftspeople and cultural practitioners. Drawing on familial ties to Ijebu Ode (Iperin / Oke Eri) and existing connections within Yorùbá spiritual networks, including Ifá practitioners, he will navigate the local environment through established relationships and research supported by the G.A.S. library and Picton Archive. During his residency, he will host a series of workshops, including a clay moulding and cyanotype masterclass exploring the concept of àṣẹ in Yorùbá culture and its resonance across the Black Atlantic.
We would also like to congratulate the shortlisted applicants for their exceptional proposals, which made the selection process highly competitive: Olushola Olajobi, Somnachino, Vida Madighi-Oghu, Foluso Oguntoye, and Turakella Editha Gyindo.
The G.A.S. Fellowship Award 2026 - Residency C is made possible through the Yinka Shonibare Foundation. We look forward to seeing the remarkable contributions these talented individuals will bring to the local creative landscape.
About the Recipients
Akir Hall
Akir Hall is a London-based biomaterial researcher who develops products grown with bacteria and fungi, blending artisanal techniques with biotechnology to drive sustainable material innovation. He shares his research through international exhibitions, lectures and workshops. He teaches biofabrication at Lifefabs Institute and hosts the podcast grow.objects, spotlighting designers and artists who are redefining how we work with nature and not against it."
Photo of Akir Hall. Image courtesy of the artist.
Kevin-Ademola Sangosanya
Of French and Nigerian origin, Kevin-Ademola Sangosanya was born in 1996 in Longjumeau (91), France. He began his artistic career after studying tropical agronomy engineering at ISTOM, from which he graduated in 2019. During this period of time he attended ENSAPC courses as an auditor. His multidisciplinary practice explores the themes of the sacred, the black experience, and the occult. His research on the Black Atlantic led him to obtain a degree in Yoruba language, literature, and civilization from INALCO in 2024. Winner of the 2024 ADIAF Emerging Artist Grant, a Taylor Prize in 2022, and finalist for the 2025 Sheds Prize, he was invited to Rio de Janeiro for the 2025 Oficina Solar residency at Solar dos Abacaxis (supported by La FAB). He is currently a resident at the Cité Internationale des Arts and was hosted in 2024 by Villa Belleville and in 2021 by Le Consulat Voltaire. His work has been featured in several international exhibitions, including the French Institute for Research in Africa in Ibadan in 2022, “DEATH” in Tbilisi in 2024, and “La constellation de M. S” at the Eric Mouchet Gallery in Brussels in 2025, curated by Andy Rankin. His work was also presented in Cotonou in January 2026 with Ilé-Ifè Art Society. In 2022, he had two solo exhibitions in Paris at Loft gallery with “Je connais la valeur de la peur.” and La La Lande with “Objects In Motion Will Stay In Motion”. He is involved locally with Carbone 17, a self-managed artist collective and residency based in Aubervilliers, where he is the cultural coordinator.
Image of Kevin-Ademola Sangosanya. Photo: Renato Mangolin, 2025