Don’t be fooled by our fingerprints. We may be different on our own, but when we look at the big picture, we all belong to a community.

Community: a group of people living in the same place, having a particular characteristic in common or sharing a common cultural and historical heritage. The definitions of community evoke a sense of expectation of belonging, understanding, and refuge. It’s the feeling you get when you hear don’t go there because danger is lurking and a total stranger sees themselves in you.

Nomadic Art Gallery in partnership with Art Digging is pleased to present “Refuge in Community”, a Lagos Biennial off-ish group exhibition. This exhibiting artists Ekene Ngige, Tochukwu Orazulike, Ife Ofulue and Olalekan Adeyemi explore the intricacies of individuality and community, while revealing the fundamental elements of a society that thrives in harmony.

With every community comes the need to preserve shared values. The culture shock exists in places where everyone is mad in complexion. In some places, there’s always that one person who derives joy from digging up chaos, and in some, there are just two nobodies shouting, ‘Do you know who I am?’ So what makes up a strong community? Is it their ability to provide refuge for the lost? Is it in the chants they sing or the rules they make? 

They say it takes a community to raise a child; but what happens when the child becomes an adult and what becomes of those whom the community failed to raise right? Do we choose our community? How do the unique journeys we each undertake shape the collective narrative we share? These questions serve as mirrors and shadows reflecting the crucial influence we evoke as individuals in our community