Author - Sabanoh
Sahr Martin Kabba, known professionally as Sabanoh, is a self-taught Sierra Leonean multidisciplinary artist working across graphic design, photography, sound, film, creative direction, and cultural community-building. His Temne name — translated in Krio as “Nar wi gɛt ya,” meaning “we own here” — anchors his commitment to creating from within his environment and contributing to Sierra Leone’s visual identity.
His practice draws from community photographs, coastal scenes, restored archives, and everyday encounters, which he reorganises into new compositions grounded in place and memory. Beyond his personal work, he has contributed to cultural initiatives such as A.W.A.T.S (African Women and Their Stories) and other emerging creative communities.
His collaborations include commissions and features with NBA Africa, Cambridge University, It’s Nice That, i-D, and the Arsenal × Adidas × Labrum Salone chapter campaign, where he served as Assistant DOP. His film work includes Gboroka (Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Sound Design) and creative and sound contributions to Sansan.
What Fabric Holds: A Material Examination of Memory
18 March – 16 April 2026 | KUNSThouse H30, Zurich
Set within a historic former silk factory, What Fabric Holds explores memory through textile, surface, and ritual form. Featuring six contemporary artists from Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the exhibition proposes that history is materially constructed rather than merely narrated. Here, pigment and gesture transmit memory through spatial logic.
Through the Eyes of Gaga: Louise Metzger & the shaping of modern artistic practice in Sierra Leone
February 14–21, 2026 | unx-art gallery, Leicester Peak, Freetown
Discover the enduring legacy of Louise “Gaga” Metzger, the visionary educator and founder who shaped Sierra Leonean modernism. Explore her textile-inspired monoprints alongside works by the mentees she inspired. This exhibition celebrates artistic transmission, honoring a spirit that built the foundations of our visual culture.
Wetin bɛ: Freetown in Retrospect
October 25–26, 2025 | unx-gallery, Leicester Peak, Freetown
A quiet meditation on Freetown’s disappearing wooden houses—the bod ose built by freed Africans in the late 18th century. In translucent washes of colour, John Francis transforms erasure into memory, painting architecture as living history. Through water and light, he asks a simple question with a heavy echo: Wetin bɛ? — what happened?
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Regards croisés: west Africa reflected on lake geneva
July 31 – August 20, 2025 | Clinique de Genolier, Switzerland
An unexpected dialogue between West African contemporary art and Swiss serenity. Eight artists from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo explore resilience, identity, and healing in unx-art’s second Swiss exhibition, set in a space where care and creativity meet.
Africa Basel: Held in memory, Forged in Form
June 18 – 21, 2025 | Ackermannshof, Basel, Switzerland
UNX Art’s exhibition Held in Memory, Forged in Form features Helen Nzete and Clément Gbegno, presenting sculptural and abstract works that reflect themes of memory, disappearance, and emotional restoration.
Matter of Now: 7 Nigerian minds in Freetown
May 16 – 24, 2025 | unx-art Gallery, Freetown, Sierra Leone
A collective exhibition presenting eight Nigerian artists delving into the complexity of the present moment — where memory, culture, and introspection intersect — in unx-art’s debut show at its Freetown gallery.
Giving Goddess: unx-art gallery space debutes
March 20 – April 30, 2025 | unx-art Gallery, Freetown, Sierra Leone
A solo exhibition by Hawa-Jane Bangura, blending digital and traditional media to celebrate African history, femininity, and solidarity. unx-art’s inaugural exhibition in Freetown introduced her empowering vision to a new audience.