The Lagos Biennial has announced the launch of Curatorial Lab Lagos, according to an official program announcement, an intensive three-day curatorial intensive programme led by Adam Szymczyk, Director of the Swiss Architecture Museum (S AM) in Basel. Designed as an experimental platform to question inherited exhibition models, the initiative takes place immediately following the Biennial’s opening weekend and responds directly to the 2026 theme, “The Museum of Things Unseen.”
Reshaping the Canon Through Curatorial Practice
Curatorial Lab Lagos invites participants to rethink the museum, the exhibition, and the art historical canon itself, according to organizers at the Lagos Biennial. Rather than teaching established methods, the intensive asks a fundamental question: How might exhibitions become laboratories for producing new knowledge rather than simply displaying existing histories? Through collective discussion, site visits, presentations, and workshops, participants investigate how curatorial practice can challenge dominant narratives and invent new forms of cultural imagination from Africa and beyond.
Pro Tip for Applicants: Successful applicants should please send a one-page motivation letter and a CV to [email protected].
Eligibility and Funding Details
The programme is open to early- and mid-career curators aged 20–35 from across the world, according to the Lagos Biennial. International return flights to Lagos, local transportation, and participation are fully funded by the initiative. Selected participants remain responsible for their own accommodation, visa fees, and upkeep.
Twelve successful applicants will be contacted on September 22, 2026, according to the programme guidelines. Interested candidates must submit a one-page motivation letter and a CV to [email protected].
About Programme Leader Adam Szymczyk
Adam Szymczyk brings extensive international institutional experience to the Lagos initiative. Born in Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland, in 1970, Szymczyk serves as Director of the Swiss Architecture Museum (S AM) in Basel, according to his professional biography. His previous leadership roles include serving as Director and Chief Curator of Kunsthalle Basel between 2003 and 2014, and as Artistic Director of documenta 14 in Athens and Kassel between 2014 and 2017.
Szymczyk has also co-curated major international exhibitions, including the 5th berlin biennale for contemporary art in 2008 with Elena Filipovic, and founded Verein by Association, a non-profit association for contemporary art and culture in Zurich, in 2022. His recent exhibition projects span institutions across Europe and Asia, including Wilhelm Sasnal: Painting as Prop at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 2024 and What Is Real? at the Okura Museum of Art in Tokyo in 2025. In addition to his curatorial work, he has taught seminars on exhibition making and curatorial practice at the Art History Institute of the University of Basel, the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, ETH Zurich, and the University of Zurich.
Did You Know? This idea first manifested during the 2019 edition of the Lagos Biennial as a curatorial intensive programme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to apply for Curatorial Lab Lagos?
Early-and mid-career curators aged 20–35 from across the world are eligible to apply, according to the Lagos Biennial.
What expenses are covered by the programme?
International return flights to Lagos, local transportation, and participation are fully funded. Participants cover their own accommodation, visa fees, and upkeep.
How do I apply, and what is the notification date?
Applicants must send a one-page motivation letter and a CV to [email protected]. Twelve successful applicants will be contacted on September 22, 2026.
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