Asiko Art School

Asiko Art School Established by Bisi Silva in 2010, Àsìkò Art School is the foremost innovative alternative educational space for African Artists and Curators.

View Àsìkò 2025 from the eyes of Cohort Member - There can be immense gratitude in change and immense pain in the vanis...
14/07/2025

View Àsìkò 2025 from the eyes of Cohort Member -

There can be immense gratitude in change and immense pain in the vanishing. This quote (Slide 1), seen in the spaces of .bec stuck with me as I read the work of ‘The Future of Egyptology’ during the month of Àsìkò, Holding Memory. Hanna’s ability to concretize a nebulous, painful and vast history of sedimented stories in Egypt is the embodiment of ‘History will break your heart’.

To be in a space of infinite learning about yourself as a professional,
To acknowledge the underpinnings of education on the continent,
To witness a city of design, aesthetics and sonic barrage,
To reconnect with residents: , , and meet so many practitioners forming continental and diasporic networks.
Thank you to the incredible Àsìkò team and the expanded CCA, Lagos institution with ARD, thank you to the programme facilitators, hosting organisations, cultural practitioners, funders and the cohort who held us through a month of sharing in Egypt.
This time was also held by the unexpected farewell to our loved ones - Githan Coopoo and Koyo Kouoh.

Slide 1: Every state vanishes (changes). (unknown)
Slide 2: The Future of Egyptology by Monica Hanna (cover artwork by )
Slide 3: Circling Tahrir Square, 2 May 2025

Day 21 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025⠀For the final day of Àsìkò 2025, we welcomed guests to our open studio tagged : “Holding Memor...
11/06/2025

Day 21 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025
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For the final day of Àsìkò 2025, we welcomed guests to our open studio tagged : “Holding Memory”
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The open studio offered a special opportunity for guests to explore our work-in-progress and experimental projects. We shared reflections, thoughts, and our creative processes that were developed during the program, each shaped through the lens of Holding Memory..

Day 20 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025⠀The participants spent the day preparing for their open studio.
11/06/2025

Day 20 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025
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The participants spent the day preparing for their open studio.

Day 19 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025The day started with the Participants working on their upcoming open studio. We then had a pres...
10/06/2025

Day 19 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025

The day started with the Participants working on their upcoming open studio.

We then had a presentation from guest facilitator Alia Sw****ka, a curator, researcher, and writer, with a focus on decoloniality and feminism.

After which the participants had one on one discussions with the facilitators

****ka

Day 18 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025⠀We spent the day, sharing insights amongst ourselves on our individual practices.⠀After which ...
09/06/2025

Day 18 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025
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We spent the day, sharing insights amongst ourselves on our individual practices.
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After which we then worked on our open studio.

Day 17 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025We began the day with a series of presentations by participants, sharing their work and reflect...
05/06/2025

Day 17 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025

We began the day with a series of presentations by participants, sharing their work and reflections developed throughout the residency.

This was followed by a session where Hana El Beblawy presented on community engagement and relationship-building as a curatorial practice.

And we ended the day with Nduwhite giving us a presentation on his practice.

Day 16 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025⠀We spent the day at Very Nile, which is the first initiative to develop large-scale means to c...
04/06/2025

Day 16 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025
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We spent the day at Very Nile, which is the first initiative to develop large-scale means to clean the Nile while raising awareness of the importance of protecting our environment.

Whilst there they gave us a tour of their project.

After which we had a presentation by the Kusbara collective, who spoke to us on their practice. Then we had a collective zine project.

The day concluded with a lunch prepared by the locals

Day 15 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025⠀ The day started with a presentation by Heba Farid, who shared her research on 20th-century mu...
03/06/2025

Day 15 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025
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The day started with a presentation by Heba Farid, who shared her research on 20th-century musical theatre and its intersections with studio photography in Egypt.

After which, Sethembile Msezane led an online workshop titled Temple: Mama Sara (Baartman’s) Conversations With Her Body. The session invited participants to engage deeply with their own bodies as vessels of memory and archive, prompting reflection on how we hold, activate, and release memory through embodied practice.
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The day continued with a wrap-up session by Lou Mou, followed by one-on-one sessions by participants.
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We ended the day in dialogue with the BIAS-AME cohort, reflecting together on the intersections of our respective programs and practices within the African and Middle Eastern contexts.

Day 14 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025⠀The morning was spent visiting Wekalet Behna, one of Alexandria’s oldest and most important sp...
01/06/2025

Day 14 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025
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The morning was spent visiting Wekalet Behna, one of Alexandria’s oldest and most important spaces dedicated to film and moving images.
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Whilst there, we heard from artists Mahmoud Khalid and Aya Tarek, each introducing us to their practice.
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The afternoon was spent at the Alexandria Bibliotheca, a major cultural center commemorating the Library of Alexandria, once one of the largest libraries worldwide, which was lost in antiquity

We appreciate the kind support from Goethe Kairo ( ) which made the Alexandria trip possible

Day 13 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025⠀We began with a visit to B’sarya Arts in Alexandria a space alive with experimentation and com...
26/05/2025

Day 13 – Àsìkò Cairo 2025

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We began with a visit to B’sarya Arts in Alexandria a space alive with experimentation and community spirit.
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By afternoon, we were back in Cairo at Shelter Art Space, encountering new modes of expression and engaging in critical conversations around practice, place, and purpose.

Many thanks to for sponsoring the trip.

’saryaArts

Àsìkò was established as a Pan-African alternative educational space for artists and curators, moving across Anglophone,...
25/05/2025

Àsìkò was established as a Pan-African alternative educational space for artists and curators, moving across Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone countries.

In continuing the Pan-African dream, we have recently expanded to include Arabic-speaking nations in the North.

We believe in the power of a united Africa and in the role of artists and cultural workers at the forefront of that vision.

Happy World Africa Day. 🌍🖤

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