A painting created through a collaboration between Nigerian and Italian artists is now on permanent display at the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art in Lagos, following a residency that also brought students into direct contact with contemporary art.

The work, titled Kairos: The Third Body, was created by Nigerian artist Anthony Nsofor and Italian artist Lara Ilaria Braconi during a five-day residency from September 21 to 25, 2026.

The project, supported by the Embassy of Italy in Lagos, combined artistic experimentation with educational activities, including studio visits for children and university students.

Rather than creating separate pieces, the artists worked together on a single large-scale painting, exploring how different cultural experiences and creative approaches could produce a shared artistic expression.

Students experience the creative process

Beyond the completed painting, the residency provided opportunities for young people to observe artists at work and discuss the ideas behind contemporary art.

Children from the Italian School in Lekki visited the temporary studio at the museum, where they observed the artists developing their collaborative work.

Students from Pan-Atlantic University and Yaba College of Technology’s Epe Annex also participated in a studio visit and discussion with Nsofor and Braconi.

The session covered the artists’ individual practices, the thinking behind Kairos: The Third Body and the possibilities of collaboration for emerging creatives.

These engagements offered students a chance to learn about artistic experimentation directly from practising artists, rather than encountering only finished works in a gallery.

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Why the artists chose to work on one painting

The title Kairos comes from an ancient Greek concept associated with an opportune moment — a meeting or encounter that makes something unexpected possible.

The artists used this idea to explore what happens when two distinct artistic practices are brought into sustained dialogue.

They described the resulting work as a “Third Body”, representing an evolving artistic presence shaped by their exchanges, observations and shared experiences.

Italian artist Braconi said the residency encouraged her to see collaboration as an opportunity for discovery.

“The experience of working with Anthony has reminded me that collaboration can be a space of discovery rather than simply a meeting of two practices. You arrive with your own way of seeing, but you also have to remain open to what the other person brings. Lagos, YSMA and the people we encountered throughout the residency became part of that process, and the work grew from those encounters.”

Nsofor said the experience also challenged him to reconsider how another artist’s ideas could influence his creative process.

“Working with Lara made me think about what happens when you allow another person into the space where your ideas are formed. We did not come together simply to combine two styles; we came together to see what could emerge from the conversation between them. For me, that is what makes Kairos meaningful. It is a record of an encounter, but it is also something neither of us could have produced alone.”

Museum hopes to sustain artistic exchange

The Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA), located at Pan-Atlantic University, has positioned the residency as an extension of its role beyond displaying artworks to providing space for artists to experiment, exchange knowledge and interact with audiences.

YSMA Director Dr Jess Castellote said the project created an opportunity for meaningful engagement between two artistic practices and cultural perspectives.

“We are delighted to have hosted Lara and Anthony for YSMA’s first artist residency. What makes this project particularly meaningful is that it has not only brought two artists together; it has created a space for genuine exchange between two artistic practices and two cultural perspectives. The artwork they have created will remain here at YSMA, so the encounter does not end with the residency. Every visitor who walks through our doors will now encounter a part of that story.”

The residency concluded on September 26 with a presentation and closing ceremony hosted by the Italian Embassy in Lagos.

The event featured remarks by Italian Consul General Ivo Michele Polacco and Castellote, a presentation of the artists and their work, a video documenting the residency, a conversation with the artists and an audience question-and-answer session.

Polacco described the initiative as a significant cultural diplomacy project and said it was the first of its kind undertaken by the Italian Embassy in Lagos.

The museum has not announced whether the residency will become a recurring programme.

What visitors can expect

The completed painting is installed on the high walls at the entrance of YSMA, making it a prominent feature for visitors arriving at the museum.

YSMA preserves and showcases Nigerian artistic heritage through its collection, exhibitions and educational programmes. It was named Museum Opening of the Year by Apollo Magazine in 2020.

The new work adds an international collaborative dimension to the museum’s collection of activities, while its educational engagements demonstrate how artist residencies can connect creative practice with learning.

Whether the initiative leads to further international collaborations remains to be seen, but Kairos: The Third Body will remain a visible record of the exchange between Nsofor and Braconi.

An art exhibition exploring how people inherit, reinterpret and pass on memories, materials and identities has moved to the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA) in Lagos, bringing the work of four emerging artists to a wider audience.

What Is Given, the inaugural Myma Art Prize exhibition, is being presented by YSMA, Pan-Atlantic University, in collaboration with Yenwa Gallery and the Myma Art Prize.

The exhibition runs from 27 September to 21 October 2026, following its first presentation at Yenwa Gallery from 13 June to 4 July.

The YSMA presentation features works by Nigerian and Ghanaian artists Omolola Coker, Emmanuel Ellis, Vincent Frimpong and Edward Prah, with additional works from the private collection of Dr Myma Belo-Osagie.

From private collection to public conversation

Rather than simply transferring the exhibition from one gallery to another, the YSMA presentation places the artists’ work within a university museum setting, where organisers say it can become a starting point for learning and discussion.

The exhibition examines themes including inheritance, memory, materiality, identity and place through painting, photography, sculpture and installation.

Its central question is what people do with what they have been given.

For curator and Yenwa founder Ugonna Ibe-Ejiogu, that question extends beyond the individual artworks to the wider philosophy of the Myma Art Prize.

“A prize is a particular kind of gift. It does not only reward work already made; it makes new work possible.”

Ibe-Ejiogu said the exhibition grew from the artists’ different relationships with material, memory, inheritance and experience.

She added that bringing it to YSMA would allow those ideas to reach students, researchers and audiences beyond the exhibition’s first presentation.

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Why the YSMA move matters

The decision to bring the exhibition to YSMA followed Museum Director Dr Jess Castellote’s visit to its original presentation at Yenwa Gallery.

Castellote was also a member of the inaugural Myma Art Prize judging panel and subsequently proposed that the exhibition travel to the university museum.

He said he was struck by the quality of the works, the coherence of the exhibition and the questions it raised.

“What struck me about What Is Given was not only the quality of the works, but the generosity of the questions the exhibition leaves with the viewer,” Castellote said.

He said the works encourage audiences to consider inheritance, memory, material and identity, as well as the choices people make about what they receive.

The museum plans to complement the exhibition with educational activities for university and secondary school students.

Those programmes are intended to encourage close observation, discussion and critical engagement with the artists’ work.

More than an art prize

At the centre of the exhibition is the story of Dr Myma Belo-Osagie, whose long-standing interest in collecting Nigerian and Ghanaian art provided the foundation for the Myma Art Prize.

Her children established the prize to mark her 70th birthday, building on her approach to collecting and supporting artists.

The initiative is designed to go beyond a conventional financial award.

It includes artist development, mentorship, exhibition opportunities and a physical residency for the grand-prize winner.

The organisers say the broader ambition is to support a more sustainable West African art ecosystem involving artists as well as curators, gallerists, framers, transporters, insurers and other professionals.

The Belo-Osagie family has described the initiative as an attempt to build what it considers the infrastructure needed to support West African art production.

‘A spirit of attention and support’

Junaid Belo-Osagie, who works with the Myma Art Prize team, said his mother’s approach to collecting had always involved paying attention to artists and their practices.

“My mother’s collection has always been about more than acquiring beautiful or important works; it has been about paying attention to artists and believing in the value of their practices, sometimes long before the wider world catches up,” he said.

He said the move to YSMA would give the exhibition access to new audiences, particularly young people considering careers in art and the creative industries.

For the organisers, this is part of the reason the exhibition is being treated as more than a showcase of artworks.

The prize’s development model reflects a growing emphasis within the African art sector on the structures surrounding artists’ careers, rather than awards alone.

What visitors can expect

The four artists approach the exhibition’s central question differently.

Their works consider how memories, photographs, materials, rituals, places and inherited ideas can be altered and given new meanings.

The exhibition therefore connects personal experience with wider questions about culture, identity and history.

The curatorial statement asks what artists owe to what they inherit, what they are expected to make from it and what remains theirs to reject.

At YSMA, those questions will also be opened to students and other visitors through the museum’s educational programme.

Exhibition details

Exhibition: What Is Given

Venue: Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos

Dates: 27 September – 21 October 2026

Artists: Omolola Coker, Emmanuel Ellis, Vincent Frimpong and Edward Prah

Presented by: YSMA, Yenwa Gallery and Myma Art Prize

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo will on Friday unveil 999, the new memoir by entertainer and activist Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, at a public event in Lagos that will also celebrate the legacy of the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and raise awareness about prostate cancer.

The event, scheduled for July 31 at the Alliance Française de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre in Ikoyi, brings together literature, public service and health advocacy at a time when campaigners continue to push for greater awareness of men’s health challenges in Nigeria.

Why it matters

The unveiling is more than a book launch.

Organisers say proceeds and public attention generated by the event will support the Charly Boy Foundation’s campaign to encourage men to undergo regular prostate cancer screening and seek early treatment.

Health experts have repeatedly warned that prostate cancer remains one of the leading cancers affecting Nigerian men, with many patients presenting at hospitals only after the disease has reached advanced stages. Increased public awareness is widely seen as critical to improving early diagnosis and survival rates.

The event also commemorates the legacy of Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, remembered for his contributions to Nigeria’s judiciary and his leadership of the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, widely known as the Oputa Panel.

A memoir built around identity and activism

According to the organisers, 999 traces Charly Boy’s journey from growing up in the household of one of Nigeria’s best-known jurists to becoming one of the country’s most unconventional entertainers and outspoken social activists.

The memoir explores themes including family, identity, resilience, courage and purpose while reflecting on decades of advocacy and public controversies.

Charly Boy explains why he wrote the book

Speaking before the launch, Charly Boy described the memoir as being “more than a personal story.”

“This book is about truth, courage and the freedom to be yourself despite the odds. It is my tribute to my father, whose sense of justice shaped my worldview, and my gift to every Nigerian who has ever dared to be different. If it also encourages more men to pay attention to their health, then its mission extends far beyond literature.”

He added:

“999 is not just about me. It is about courage, truth, legacy and survival. It is a reflection of where I come from, the values my father stood for, the battles I have fought and the hope that our stories can inspire others to live boldly, care for themselves and never give up.”

Expert perspective

Literary analysts say memoirs by public figures often provide valuable historical records, particularly when they document social movements, political events and personal experiences that shaped national conversations.

Public health specialists also note that using celebrities to promote cancer awareness can help reduce stigma surrounding men’s health and encourage more people to seek medical advice early.

Industry and public reaction

The event is expected to attract senior government officials, judges, diplomats, business leaders, academics, healthcare professionals, civil society groups, media practitioners and members of Nigeria’s creative industry.

For readers, the launch reflects a growing trend in which books are increasingly being used not only to preserve personal histories but also to support advocacy campaigns on issues affecting society.

What happens next?

The public presentation will take place on Friday at Alliance Française de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre, Osborne Road, Ikoyi.

Attention is likely to focus not only on the memoir itself but also on discussions surrounding Justice Oputa’s legacy, civic activism and the need for greater awareness of prostate cancer among Nigerian men.