PASSAGE Art and Heritage from West Africa ECOWAS 2026 Mid-Year Coordination Summit
Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre, Lungi, Sierra Leone
Curated and produced by unx-art
"Through the looking glass" © Arthur Timothy
About the Exhibition
Passage brought together contemporary artworks and heritage objects from fifteen West African countries for the ECOWAS 2026 Mid-Year Coordination Summit.
Conceived and produced by unx-art, the exhibition explored how artistic practices, cultural memory and material heritage continue to shape contemporary West Africa. Through painting, mixed media and historical objects, PASSAGE invited visitors to consider culture not as a legacy of the past, but as a living force carried across generations.
Inspired by Nigerian historian J. F. Ade Ajayi's understanding of African history as one of continuity rather than rupture, the exhibition proposed art as a passage: a space where memory is transmitted, transformed and reimagined.
"Guardians of memory" © Hafsatu Serry
Knowledge is transmitted through stories, rituals, architecture, materials and everyday life. Throughout the exhibition, contemporary artworks entered into dialogue with heritage objects from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, revealing the enduring cultural continuities that connect the region while celebrating the richness of its individual traditions..
Background: The Creation of the Man © Thierry Tomety.
From left to right foreground: Senufo Calabash from Burkina Faso, Pendant from Mali and Hausa Trunk from Niger.
Architecture and Exhibition Design
Presented within the newly inaugurated Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre, PASSAGE transformed the building into a museum-quality exhibition environment.
Developed in close collaboration with FB Group, the conference centre's developer, and CA2O Architects, bespoke exhibition walls, display structures and spatial interventions were designed specifically for the project. Rather than occupying an existing gallery, the exhibition became part of the architecture itself, allowing contemporary art and heritage objects to engage directly with the building and its visitors.
This collaboration demonstrated how architecture, design and curatorial practice can work together to create meaningful cultural experiences within major public institutions.
Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre Inauguration
Artists
Ludovic K. Fadaïro — Benin
Nuno M. Martins — Cabo Verde
Pascal Konan — Côte d’Ivoire
Njogu Saït Touray — The Gambia
Enoch Nii Amon Hammond — Ghana
Bella Bah — Guinea
Lemos Djata — Guinea-Bissau
Collins Courage Wiah — Liberia
Timi Kakandar — Nigeria
Soly Cissé — Senegal
Arthur Timothy — Sierra Leone
Hafsatu Serry — Sierra Leone
Thierry Tomety — Togo
Heritage objects from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Project Credits
Curator
Sarah Hachi-Duchêne
Curatorial Assistant
Frederick Hazael Horton
Curatorial Assistant
Nduwhite Ndubuisi Ahanonu
Curated and produced by
unx-art Gallery. Freetown
Exhibition Partner
FB Group
Spatial Design
CA2O Architecture
Photography © unx-art
Discover the PASSAGE exhibition catalogue.
Enquire about the artworks.
Passage: Art and Heritage from West Africa - ECOWAS 2026 Mid-Year Coordination Summit
Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre, Lungi
Curated and produced by unx-art
PASSAGE brings together contemporary artworks and heritage objects from across West Africa, exploring the continuities between artistic creation, collective memory and lived experience.
Through painting, mixed media and heritage objects, the exhibition reflects the ways in which art remains embedded in social, spiritual and political life.
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