Yinka Shonibare is planning to launch an artist residency programme across two sites in Nigeria – Lagos and the other in the rural area of Ijebu in Ogun state. His idea is to open it in time for the Art X Lagos fair in November 2021.

Prior in 2019, Yinka Shonibare established The Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation, a non-profit launched under the umbrella of The Yinka Shonibare Foundation (UK) and dedicated to facilitating international artistic and cultural exchange. The building in Lagos is under construction and designed by Elsie Owusu Architects, including a gallery, studio spaces and accommodation for the artists-in-residence as well as Shonibare.

In addition to the Lagos space, residents will have access to a rural residency and studio space in Ijebu, Ogun State. The private Ecological Green Farm (E.G.F.) is set on a thirty-acre plot of land, where people already work and live. The E.G.F. will provide quiet and peaceful surroundings for the artists to work in a rural area.