Work-in-Progress. New professional development platform at CCA,Lagos

The Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos has initiated a dynamic platform for visual art and culture discussions since opening its doors in January 2008. We have had artists, critics, writers, curators and funders talking about their work, their ideas and sharing their skills and knowledge base with us.

CCA,Lagos continues in its aims to build a strong education and public programme that reaches out to the widest audience possible. We aim to actively encourage debate and critical discourse that engages with topical issues that affect our society specifically and the world in general. To fulfill our objectives we invite local, African and international guest speakers to talk on a wide ranges of themes and issues concerning contemporary art and culture.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS

Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos launches a new professional development platform called Work-in- Progress on Thursday the 21st of August 2008. WIP provides an opportunity for artists, critics, curators to present a project during the developmental process and in return receive constructive critiques from an engaged audience.

Work-in-Progress provides a much needed platform to flesh out problems, elaborate on ideas, to explore varied possibilities and to get feedback from colleagues.The aim is to tackle the isolation cultural practitioners sometimes experience in creating new work, developing their idea and moving to an advanced level in their work and experimentations.

Expected Results include:

• Presenters benefit from timely feedback from their peers and colleagues.
• Presenters can hone their ideas further, take what is useful, play around with what is not so useful and make useful what is useless.
• Presenters can develop their communication skills and learn to articulate their ideas fully within 20mins.
• Audience members will also develop their communication and critical skills. They must be able to convincingly substantiate/argue their points for and against particular ideas.

In the process it is hoped that presenters and audience come away from WIP with a mutually beneficial exchange.

WIP1 Presenters, Thurs 21st August 2008 2pm - 4.30pm

Toyin Bello, Photographer, Musician, Music Video Director.

TY will present Atoned a yet (but soon) to be released music video in which she aims to develop a synergy between her music, her photographic experience and now her directorial skills through video.

George Osodi, Photographer
George will present Devil's Dexterity (Draft title) the beginning of a new body of work which is taking on a more conceptual framework than his previous documentary work. The starting point is the remnants of accidents that we see on the Nigerian roads to explore the vulnerability of life and the tragic beauty of the landscape.

Bisi Silva, Curator
Bisi will present Precious little things in life, (Draft Title) an exhibition proposal being developing as a touring exhibition for a institution in the UK from 2010 and then internationally including to Africa. Through this exhibition she explores the way in which visual artists from Africa, South America and Europe explore the different faces of globalisation highlighting its predatory aspects especially in relation to Africa.
Venue

Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos
9 McEwen Street, Off Queen Street, Sabo, Yaba
Opp Methodist Church, Herbert Macaulay St, Lagos.

Telephone 0702 8367106