Conversations | Arthur Jafa | Art Basel Awards

false

Arthur Jafa, artist, Los Angeles&nbsp; Azu Nwagbogu,&nbsp;curator, Founder and Director, African Artists’&nbsp;Foundation, Lagos In this new series of talks, ‘One-on-ones’, artists and creatives shortlisted for the Art Basel Awards are invited to the Conversations stage for a dynamic deep dive into their work, recent projects, and journeys to this point. Artist and filmmaker Arthur Jafa, nominated in the Established Artist category, speaks to Azu Nwagbogu, the founder and director of the African Artists’ Foundation and LagosPhoto, and the publisher of Art Base Africa, who is nominated in the Curator category. Arthur Jafa&nbsp;is an artist and filmmaker. Across three decades, Jafa has developed a dynamic practice comprising films, artifacts, and happenings that reference and question the universal and specific articulations of Black being. Underscoring the many facets of Jafa’s practice is a recurring question: how can visual media, such as objects, static and moving images, transmit the equivalent power, beauty, and alienation embedded within forms of Black music in US culture?  In 2019, he received the Golden Lion for Best Participant of the 58th Venice Biennale. &nbsp; Azu Nwagbogu is an internationally acclaimed curator focused on evolving new models of engagement around decolonization, restitution, and repatriation. He is the founder and director of the African Artists’ Foundation and LagosPhoto, and the publisher of Art Base Africa. Nwagbogu is an Explorer at Large with the National Geographic Society and has been listed on the ArtReview Power 100 (2021–2026). In 2024, he curated the first-ever Benin Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale.

From Hong Kong to Basel, dive into our rich archive of talks and debates, featuring leading voices of the art world and beyond

Discover all past Conversations

Talks

Promotional module

VIDEOM - Video Module

Text Module

BNM - Banner Module

Connection Error

Adjust artwork hanging position based on the Y-Axis. The higher the number the higher the position. We recommend looking at the preview mode first to see how it looks at 0 value. This does not apply to artworks with solid color backgrounds.

Artwork Title

Type Title here

On view at the fair 

Enable if this artwork can be seen during the show

View on Wall Options

Select a thumbnail to preview and crop

Header image crops

Header Image

Header Theme

Please upload an image that is at least 2000px in width or height in either a PNG or JPG format. Please ensure all images are in sRGB format to ensure proper color representation.&nbsp;