LagosPhoto is the first and only international arts festival of photography in Nigeria. The festival presents photography as it is embodied in the exploration of historical and contemporary issues, the promotion of social programmes, and the reclamation and engagement of public spaces in showcasing contemporary photography.

LagosPhoto Festival is delighted to announce the 8th edition of the Lagos Photo festival, themed Regimes of Truth.

Held between the 24th of November- 15th of December, this year’s LagosPhoto encompasses an engaging programme of events with cultural and artistic gains. Exhibitions of finely curated works of photography from the African continent and the diaspora, large-scale and performative installations dotted around iconic public spaces in Lagos, as well as artists’ presentations, workshops and the like.

Regimes of Truth will explore the pursuit for and presentation of truth in contemporary society, gleaning inspiration from the writings of some of the 19th and 20th centuries' most influential literary realists and intellectuals. Gustave Flaubert’s L’Empire de la Bêtis (The Empire of Stupidity), Orwell’s creation of “doublethink” from his dystopian novel 1984, as well as the writings of Foucault, Achebe and Huxley, all possessed foresight about contemporary society’s concurrent quandary, whereby access to information on one hand and substantive facts on the other hand, are masked by a constructed rhetoric. Regimes of Truth thus ruminates on the tension and confluence between veracity and artifice in society today.

Contemporary photography serves as a gatekeeper of reality and truth as well as a conjurer of artistic imaginings for the viewer’s pleasure and introspection.

Our quotidian living is rife with the creation and sharing of images, alluding to photography as the axis on which our interdependence and freedom rotates. It is therefore the ideal medium to explore the search for reality and truth in contemporary society.

Thus, through their works, LagosPhoto’s exhibiting photographers will articulate how photography embodies the cohesion, as well as the juxtaposition of truth and reality in contemporary society. Regimes of Truth debuts new work by acclaimed artists such as Samuel Fosso, whose series "Black Pope" delves into the politics of religion and explores the often shied away reflections on religion in Africa.

As always LagosPhoto, will remain unbiased and encompass a wide-range of photographic approaches. Historical work, archival material, reportage, collage, conceptual and non-conceptual image based approach will be considered.

ABOUT LAGOS PHOTO
Launched in 2010, LagosPhoto has established a community for contemporary photography, which unites local and international artists through images that encapsulate individual experiences and identities from across all of Africa. LagosPhoto presents and educates about photography as it is embodied in photojournalism, the exploration of historical and contemporary social issues, the sharing of cultural practices, and the promotion of social programs.