From helping photographers capture the Nigerian protests to exhibiting during a pandemic, the director of LagosPhoto festival has had his work cut out. Now he wants to fight ‘afro-pessimism’ and the posturing around Black Lives Matter. Azu Nwagbogu from the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), a non-profit organisation he founded in 2007, had a team attending the protests daily, supporting photographers on the ground “by providing a truck with first-aid kits, refreshments, charging ports and a generator so they can recharge their drones and get refreshed”. Last weekend saw the launch of the 11th edition of LagosPhoto, which takes the form of a digitally led programme of exhibitions, workshops and talks alongside site-specific installations in public spaces throughout the city. As well as cooperating with many small local museums across Nigeria, including the Fela Kuti museum in Lagos, Nwagbogu and his creative collaborator Clémentine Delisse have encouraged people to photograph their living spaces. 

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