Picturing Lagos: Photography and African Visual Histories

The invention of the daguerreotype in 1839, ushered in a modern era of visual practice that marked a major turning point in African (and African Diaspora) visual history. This technological precursor to photography paved the way for the parallel advent of the camera and colonial rule on the continent, notably in the British economic and imperial center of West Africa: Lagos (Nigeria). Offering a brief overview of my manuscript, Picturing Lagos: Photography and Place in a West African City, 1861-1950, this talk explores the important but understated role that photographs played in the development of key social institutions—the colonial government, the church, and the press. Though they are now scattered across private collections and public archives in the US, Nigeria, and Europe, these photographs continue to evoke overlapping and competing visions of the city, much like they did in their colonial heyday.

THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC