…as AAF, CATPC partner in intercultural exhibition and symposium in Lagos.
By Chris Onuoha
When History and Restitution challenges an obnoxious structure, the outcome would be an outpour of emotional reflections, as seen in a compilation of creative project.
African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), a Nigerian based art institution supporting contemporary art, design and culture, in collaboration with Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC), from the Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC), holds an art exhibition and symposium titled: “Nsi: After the Harvest,” that queries the above statement.
The intercultural art exhibition that will open on Monday, October 5, and run till November 22, 2026 at AAF’s place, Ishola Oyekan Close, Victoria Island, is bringing the first public presentation of the art collection assembled by Congolese plantation workers’ collective, CATPC to Lagos. The exhibition examines how histories of plantation labour and resource extraction continue to shape land, livelihoods and culture, and how artistic production can contribute to restitution and ecological recovery.
Presented in partnership with the (CATPC) and Human Activities, the Lagos exhibition is curated by Nkhensani Mkhari, with Azu Nwagbogu as project advisor. It forms part of AAF’s Dig Where You Stand programme. This will be accompanied by a public symposium at the J. Randle Centre for Yorùbá Culture & History, Onikan, on Thursday, October 8, followed by film and After-Hours programming on Friday, October 9, and all the programmes are free to the public.
According to the organisers, it is an art collection rooted in land and community, noting that at the centre of Nsi, is CATPC’s work in Lusanga, DRC, where artistic production is connected to the reclamation of former plantation land and its transformation into community-owned forests and food gardens. The statement stressed that the collective’s practice tends to ask, who owns art, who benefits from its value, and how that value can support the communities and landscapes from which wealth has historically been extracted.
The CATPC collections include the works by Marlene Dumas; Olafur Eliasson; Luc Tuymans; Chéri Samba; Francis Alÿs; Jan Dibbets; Lydia Ourahmane and Christopher Kulendran Thomas. Its public presentation in Lagos places a collection owned by plantation workers at the centre of a conversation about the relationships between museums, cultural wealth and plantation economies.
In addition, the Lagos exhibition also brings together CATPC and artists Patrick Bongoy, Maurice Mbikayi, Wonder Buhle Mbambo, Sandra Mujinga,Gerald Chukwuma, Uche Uzorka, Odili Donald Odita, Luke Agada, Ozuma Patrick Chidiebube, Emma Odumade and Ntshepe Tsekere Bopape, known as Mo Laudi. Mo Laudi’s Congo Square in D# Minor (2021) introduces sound into the exhibition’s engagement with history, memory and extraction.
Describing the rationale behind the theme, AAF stated that the title draws on Nsi, a Congolese Kikongo word that refers to land, earth and the realm of the ancestors. “After the Harvest asks what remains when resources have been removed and labour expended: the effects on bodies and landscapes, the histories carried by materials, and the responsibilities that continue after extraction.”
According to the statement, four interconnected themes organise the exhibition. ‘Sediment’ considers the histories accumulated in land and memory while ‘Signal’ examines how voices and claims travel across distance. Others are ‘Residue’ that addresses the material and social consequences of extraction and ‘Repair’ that considers the practical work of restoration. Together, they frame restitution as a question of land, ownership, livelihoods and cultural authority, as well as the return of objects.
On the side of symposium, the expository deals with artists, heritage and the possibilities of repair. The single-day symposium that holds on October 8, will bring artists, cultural practitioners and audiences into conversation on land, heritage, extraction and ecological repair, with sessions on Sediment, Residue and Repair.
Azu Nwagbogu, Founder and Artistic Director at AAF, will deliver the opening remarks, followed by a curatorial address by Nkhensani Mkhari. Artist Renzo Martens will deliver the keynote with the title; “What’s Up with This Renzo Martens?” Attempting to connect Museums to the plantations that funded them in 2010 to 2026, his presentation will examine the relationship between Western art institutions and plantation wealth through his practice and long-term engagement with CATPC, followed by discussion and audience questions.
Meanwhile, CATPC representatives, Céd’art Tamasala and Matthieu Kasiama will lead a dedicated presentation, “The Collection That Regrows the Sacred Forest,” exploring the collective’s ownership of an art collection and its relationship to land and forest restoration in Lusanga, DRC.
The SEDIMENT conversation will bring Dr Oluwatoyin Zainab Sogbesan and Enotie
Ogbebor together to discuss land, heritage, memory and restitution, moderated by Sapphire Ikoghene Favour Kehinde. Ozuma Patrick Chidiebube will lead the RESIDUE session on bodies, materials and waste. The REPAIR panel will feature Jelili Atiku, Céd’art Tamasala and Matthieu Kasiama, moderated by Nkhensani Mkhari. A spoken-word performance by Isidinma Nnachi (Flowers Express) will connect the day’s discussions with poetry.
Furthermore, the After Hours programme on October 9, moves into film, sound and informal exchange. A screening of Sammy Baloji’s ‘The Tree of Authenticity ‘ done in 2025 at African Artists’ Foundation, Victoria Island, will extend the exhibition’s consideration of colonial scientific research, ecology and extraction in the Congo.
The After Hours at AAF is planned as an evening of music, performance and exchange among artists, speakers and the Lagos creative community.
The foundation explained that ‘Nsi: After the Harvest,’ will also have a Dakar chapter at Malidoma Popenguine, Senegal, from November 22 to December 19, 2026, within the Dak’Art Biennale off programme.
Co-curated by Nkhensani Mkhari, Charlotte Brathwaite and Malick Welli, and developed and presented with Malidoma Popenguine, the Dakar chapter will have its own artist selection. It extends the project’s exchange across African contexts while retaining a distinct curatorial and local focus.
