The EU at the Lagos Biennial 2026: Exploring Digital Art as a Living Organism
Lagos is increasingly establishing itself as one of Africa’s most dynamic cultural capitals and an important destination on the international contemporary art scene. From 14 November to 6 December 2026, the Nigerian metropolis will host the fifth edition of the Lagos Biennial, entitled “The Museum of Things Unseen”.
Founded and directed by Folakunle Oshun, and curated by Furen Dai, Chinyere Obieze and Sam Hopkins, The “Museum of Things Unseen” invites audiences to question the mechanisms through which cultural and historical narratives are constructed, while drawing attention to voices and experiences that are often left outside official representations.
It is within this framework that the European Union’s participation takes on particular significance: creating opportunities for European perspectives to meet African experiences through an open and meaningful exchange.
Digital Art as a Living Ecosystem: Stefano Fake at the Lagos Biennial
A key highlight of the European Union’s programme at the Lagos Biennial 2026 is The Immersive Digital Space as a Living Organism, an ambitious participatory digital art project conceived by Italian multimedia artist Stefano Fake, founder of THE FAKE FACTORY.
Through this project, the European Union brings to Lagos an innovative exploration of the relationship between art, technology and collective creativity, placing experimentation and active participation at the heart of the artistic experience.
From 16 to 20 November, Stefano Fake will lead a five-day co-creation workshop involving students, designers and artists, inviting them to contribute to the development of a shared digital environment. Rather than presenting a finished artwork, the project proposes an open creative process in which participants become the building blocks of a larger, evolving visual ecosystem.
Working with graphics, drawings, collages, animations, textures and generative patterns, participants will develop original visual materials inspired by Lagos’s cultural traditions, urban landscapes and individual experiences. These contributions will then be integrated into THE FAKE FACTORY’s immersive framework, combining individual artistic expressions into a collective visual language.
The outcome will be a multi-projector immersive installation conceived as a living organism: a dynamic digital space in which images, patterns and visual elements interact, transform and evolve through the creative energy of their makers.
On 21 and 22 November, the installation will be updated with the artworks produced during the workshop, allowing the participants’ contributions to become an integral part of the Biennial's immersive experience.
More than a workshop in digital techniques, Fake’s project proposes a different way of understanding technology, a shared space for dialogue, experimentation and collective expression. Each participant contributes an individual visual identity to a larger composition, creating an evolving digital landscape that reflects the diversity and cultural vitality of Lagos.
In this sense, The Immersive Digital Space as a Living Organism embodies one of the central ambitions of the European Union’s presence at the Biennial: to create meaningful encounters between European and African creative communities, using contemporary art and technological innovation as tools for cultural exchange and collaboration.
From Participation to Co-creation
Workshops, artistic collaborations and educational exchanges are expected to foster new connections between European, Ukrainian and Nigerian creative communities. The programme aims to encourage new professional and cultural networks, international collaborations and opportunities for artists’ residencies.
Nigerian universities and schools will also play an important role, with invitations to attend the Biennial programme. From 16 to 18 November, curatorial workshops will be led by Adam Szymczyk, identified in the programme as one of the world’s top five curators. Artists from France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Greece will also take part in the event.
Working in close collaboration with the EU Delegation to Nigeria and the Biennial’s private partners, the initiative seeks to transform the exhibition into a starting point for broader cultural cooperation, grounded in participation, dialogue and direct exchange.
More about EU and Lagos Biennial:
How the EU helps bring Ukrainian art to new audiences at the Lagos Biennial