Invisible Borders

In 2009, 10 Nigerian photographers came together and embarked on a project called INVISIBLE BORDERS 2009 – a trip from Lagos to Bamako by road. The project was inspired by the 8th edition of the Festival of photography in Bamako.

This initiative arose as a result of an urgent need to address the notion of dividing borders between countries in the African continent. It was an attempt to acquire a more realistic sense of the similarities and difference between peoples suggested by cultural and geographical divides. But beyond geographical frontiers, it was in a bid to experience firsthand those salient but latent factors which suggest a certain form of demarcation between a people of similar race, hence the project’s nomenclature: INVISIBLE BORDERS.

As a result of the success of the trip coupled with the challenges encountered and knowledge acquired, it was decided that it becomes an annual event which will anchor itself to the different cultural and artistic events taking place all over the continent, thereby forming a cultural and artistic network between cities and countries in Africa from its departure point Lagos, Nigeria.

We envisage a project which takes on the form of “Photography Without Borders”. The target is that by 2015, we would have traveled and photographed in different cities of about 30 African countries and by 2020, we must have touched foot in all countries of Africa. Invisible Borders in years to come, will become a crucial vehicle for cultural awareness both in Nigeria and in other countries of Africa.