Institute of Art Lagos

The Curatorial Research Department of the IAL has undertaken a study examining identity politics in relation to the philosophy of “art for art’s sake” (l’art pour l’art). This debate has remained central to contemporary art discourse for decades. While meaning in art is often considered subjective — shaped by the viewer’s personal interpretation — many artists have chosen to focus on the materiality of the artwork itself, presenting formal exercises stripped of any overt narrative or ideological message.   In contrast, artists such as William Kentridge, Faith Ringgold, Ai Weiwei, and Jacob Lawrence, among others, view art as inseparable from broader social and political concerns. Their work challenges dominant systems, advances calls for social justice, and advocates for the fundamental rights and dignity of the communities they represent.   William Kentridge, a celebrated South African artist, has built a multidisciplinary practice spanning prints, drawings, and animated films. He is particularly acclaimed for a series of hand-drawn animations produced in the 1990s, where each sequence captures the shifting life of an image — drawn, erased, reimagined, and filmed — resulting in haunting, mutable narratives born from the simplest of marks. Throughout his career, Kentridge has maintained a deep connection to his Johannesburg roots, drawing urgent inspiration from the need to interrogate the injustices of apartheid and the brutal suppression of South Africa’s indigenous peoples.   Source: Documentary @Bloomberg @williamkentridgestudio Editorial writing: @instituteofartlagos