Beyond The Box: Design Week Lagos 2022 Winds Down

November 8, 2022

The fourth edition of the recently concluded Design Week Lagos (DWL) 2022, which was held from Wednesday, October 19 through to Sunday 23, 2022 at Livespot Entertainment Center successfully left a mind-altering effect in the hearts of African architectural and design industry, and stakeholders.

The annual event is a well-thought-through initiative that aims to celebrate and bring together a community of African designers, architects, creative industries and stakeholders with a vision to create recognizable and sustainable design culture for Africa.

The flag off held on Wednesday, 19 October, with an exclusive reception which was officially inaugurated by the special guest of honor, His Royal Majesty, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal – the Oniru of Iruland who was led on a private spree of the grand and fascinating African designs at the Design Week Exhibition led by Titi Ogufere – the Founder of Design Week Lagos. With over 50 exhibitors -WOODstyles, Kohler, C.Ceramica, Raknida, FINSA, Alneli, and TrustWood, among others, specially invited guests and stakeholders in the industry convened for a private cocktail opening of Design Week Lagos.

“I am so excited about the Design Week Lagos Exhibition. We have different designers at the exhibition from different parts of the world, including product, interior, space, and architectural designers. Cities, spaces, structures, furniture, and everything we see have been designed to ensure usability and satisfaction. What Design Week Lagos is doing helps us function better in the design aspects of our life. We all think about designs in different ways but for us, we want to show you design beyond the box! Thank you all, and please enjoy the evening and the Design Week Lagos show” Titi Ogufere expressed and further extended gratitude to the sponsors of the event which include Amstel Malta, MTN, Desperados, and Livespot.

To further delight the guests was a showcase of designs and print materials by Victor Ekpuk, one of the main exhibitors of Design Week Lagos, from Washington State, USA.

Design Week Lagos exhibition officially kicked off and opened to the public on October 20, 2022. The weeklong days of eccentric activities showcased an array of fascinating, elegant and luxurious display of African designs, which also includes material designs, interiors, fabrics, architecture and so on.

The exhibition also featured its first series of panel discussions and master class by the renounced architect, Jumoke Adenowo on “Neo Heritage” and other panel sessions were held by experts and enthusiasts in the international and African design corridors – Jacqueline Aki, Myles Igwebuike, Banke, Ajagunna, James Adisa, Stefanie Adisa, Darey Art Alade, Lojay, Malik Afegbua, Tracy Nwapa, Bubu Ogisi and many more. Students from the Departments of Architecture, University of Lagos and Yaba College of Technology also graced the event to experience the luxury and mind-shifting designs beyond the box!

Still garnering support from organizations and corporate bodies, representatives from various high-end
companies also presented irresistible offers to the audience. These offers featured Access Bank’s W Initiative targeted at women, and Dulux Nigeria’s insights on architectural paints products offer. Akinwale Johnson (Founder of Polar Bear Tech) enlightened the audience on the benefits of Virtual Reality (VR) and how its existence is enhancing better work performance and delivery, he also demonstrated using a VR Goggle at the talks session of the DWL 2022.

The Grand Finale of the citywide celebration ended with an exceptional book launch titled ‘Concrete Thinking’ written by Demas Nwoko, an award-winning Painter, Sculptor, Architect and Designer who is a leading pioneer of Nigeria’s modern Art movement. The newly released is a collection of essays, it has been in the works for as long as he has been active, being the summation of his writings and thoughts on various concerns within the domains his work has straddled over the years. The evening began with a cultural dance presentation by a group of children entertaining the guests who cheered on.

You are Invited to the Virtual Launch of The Borderless Trade Book By Olori Boye-Ajayi!

In attendance at the book launch were – Fadesewa of Simawa (Long Term Associate and Collaborator of Demas Nwoko), His Royal Highness, Oba Gbenga Sonuga (Former Director of Lagos State Council for Art and Culture), Kavita Chellaram (Art Collector, Founder of KO Art Gallery), Nike Okundaye (Founder of Nike Art Gallery) among others. Demas Nwoko while speaking to the Press about his newly launched book, expressed in his words “I hope that this book would be a source of inspiration to the younger generation.”

“As we prepared for this year’s festival, one of the questions I kept asking myself was “How do we want our guests to feel as they come by?” DWL 2022 was everything we wanted and much more! It was a positive, wholesome experience, one that fully encompassed the core of what DWL is and its mission, The festival was a cultural exposition, from the amazing product designers (new and seasoned) who blew our minds by exhibiting unique, functional pieces, to DWL Talks that hosted some extremely informative sessions to the well-curated food at the cafe and cozy lounge spaces and, of course, the launch of the book ‘Concrete Thinking’ by Pa Demas Nwoko. The most exciting thing for me was the natural balance as to which things flowed – the festival was filled with efficacious visual stimulation and strategic design commerce – I saw business being transacted and collaborations being fostered! My take is, DWL truly isn’t a festival to miss, next year promises to be more engaging and exciting… See you in 2023”, Osaru Alile, Creative Director, CC Interiors Studio, giving her closing remarks as the curtains of DWL 2022 wound down.

More information at www.designweeklaos.com

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