The full recording of the WAAU Talk, Afro-Atlantic Histories and Memories: Ancestry, Futurity and Community against Erasure, held on 30 May 2025 at ARCOlisboa, is now available on our website.

This timely and resonant conversation, moderated by Ana Balona de Oliveira, brought together Paula Nascimento, Igor Simões, Januário Jano, Melissa Rodrigues, Cássio Markowski, Moisés Patrício, and Alicia Knock—artists, curators, and thinkers whose practices are rooted in and respond to diverse Afro-Atlantic contexts.

Presented in collaboration with The Shapes of the Ocean section at ARCOlisboa, the discussion examined the role of memory, imagination, and cultural production in countering historical silencing and constructing more just futures. Reflecting on ancestry, belonging, and the persistent legacies of coloniality, the speakers explored how contemporary art intervenes in dominant narratives and opens space for collective agency.

WAAU – World African Artists United – had the pleasure of presenting the association’s mission and vision during ARCOlisboa 2025. This private session introduced our newly formalised structure, grounded in decolonial thinking and collective commitment to reshaping global cultural narratives.

Bringing together artists, curators, and cultural practitioners from African and Afro-diasporic contexts, we reflected on WAAU’s recent projects, its role in fostering visibility and access, and its efforts toward building transnational networks rooted in epistemic justice and artistic autonomy.

We are truly grateful to everyone who attended and engaged with us during this important moment. Here we share some highlights from the presentation and thank all who contributed to this collective reflection on art, power, and transformation.

📍Cordoaria Nacional, Avenida da Índia, 1300-342 Lisbon, Portugal.

At ARCOlisboa 2025, WAAU spoke with its president and founder, Elson Angélico, for an insightful exchange on art, cultural infrastructure, and narrative change. The conversation took place, fittingly, at the WAAU booth and exhibitional space, which continue to serve each year as vital meeting points within the fair.
Angélico shared reflections on his personal and professional journey, shaped by a sustained engagement with contemporary African and diasporic art. He recalled founding NOT A MUSEUM, an experimental art lab located in a central Lisbon district, which hosted some of the city’s most resonant Afrocentric artistic initiatives.
He also discussed MEXTO, the company he co-founded, which today plays a dual role as patron of WAAU and official sponsor of ARCOlisboa, a significant alignment between business, cultural advocacy, and structural support for the arts.
Looking forward, Angélico spoke about WAAU’s ambition to be present at the 2026 Venice Biennale, its ongoing work to reframe narratives—including in educational systems, and its role in bringing critical voices and dialogues to ARCOlisboa each year.

📍Cordoaria Nacional, Avenida da Índia, 1300-342 Lisbon, Portugal.

WAAU – World African Artists United is pleased to share an interview with Christophe Person, director of the eponymous gallery dedicated to contemporary African art.
In this conversation, Person reflects on the development of his gallery, from its foundation in Paris to the recent opening of a new space in Brussels. He offers thoughtful insights into the current landscape of African contemporary art and its evolving reception across the globe.
The gallery’s participation in ARCOlisboa 2025, within the curated section ‘The Shapes of the Ocean’ further underscores this growing visibility and the ongoing dialogue between artists, curators, and institutions across continents.
We are very grateful to Christophe Person for taking the time to speak with us and share his perspective.

📍Cordoaria Nacional, Avenida da Índia, 1300-342 Lisbon, Portugal.

At ARCOlisboa 2025, WAAU – World African Artists United had the honour of interviewing the award-winning architect and curator Paula Nascimento, member of the WAAU Association, and co-curator of the fair’s section “The Shapes of the Ocean”, together with curator Igor Simões.

In this conversation, Nascimento expands on the conceptual and methodological foundations of ‘The Shapes of the Ocean’, a section that convenes galleries representing artists from the African continent and its multiple diasporas. Anchored in the ocean as both metaphor and epistemological framework, the section interrogates histories of forced and voluntary displacement, colonial violence, and the enduring legacies of the transoceanic circulation of bodies, cultures, and knowledge systems. At the same time, it foregrounds the ocean as a space of recomposition, creative resilience, and relationality.

Nascimento underscores the significance of the intertextual and trans geographic dialogues made possible through this curatorial programme.

We are deeply grateful for her insight, presence, and participation in our talk on the same day.

📍Cordoaria Nacional, Avenida da Índia, 1300-342 Lisbon, Portugal.

At ARCOlisboa 2025, WAAU – World African Artists United engaged in a dynamic program dedicated to centering African and Afro-diasporic voices within contemporary art discourse. Our presence at the fair reflected a clear commitment to decolonial practices, transnational collaboration, and the reconfiguration of global cultural narratives.

Through talks, exchanges, and active participation, we created space for critical reflection on memory, representation, and structural transformation. WAAU brought together artists, curators, and thinkers whose work challenges dominant frameworks and proposes new forms of artistic and cultural solidarity.

Our mission at the fair was to affirm the urgency of building sustainable networks that support access, equity, and epistemic justice in the art world. We are grateful to all who engaged with our programming, joined the conversation, and shared in our collective vision.

WAAU remains committed to fostering visibility, dialogue, and meaningful connection across Afro-Atlantic geographies and beyond.

📍Cordoaria Nacional, Avenida da Índia, 1300-342 Lisbon, Portugal.

WAAU – World African Artists United – was honored to participate in the opening of ARCOlisboa 2025, reinforcing our commitment to amplifying contemporary African and Afro-diasporic voices within the global art scene.

The inauguration provided a vibrant space for exchange, where we connected with fellow artists, curators, cultural leaders, diplomats, and politicians. We also took the opportunity to share information about our platform and association, highlighting our mission and ongoing initiatives.

Thank you to all who visited our stand and joined us in celebrating art, memory, and transnational cultural dialogue.

📍Cordoaria Nacional, Avenida da Índia, 1300-342 Lisbon, Portugal.