With writing, as with many creative endeavors, sometimes it's a false start that leads to something interesting. In this case it was a photography exhibition I saw in Lagos that struck a chord and, in my view, warranted reviewing. On returning to New York, I held forth on the topic enthusiastically to Dunja Hersak, the overseas exhibition review editor for this publication. Her expression was ambiguous. Probing a little, I discovered the reason: The exhibition I was proposing to review took place in a commercial space, and African Arts does not cover commercial projects. What's more, the space in question is located inside a hotel—a kind of dubious Russian doll of commercialism. For a moment I felt deflated and foolish—of course I couldn't write about art-for-sale in an academic journal. The problem is, in cities in Africa, a lot of up-and-coming contemporary art spaces have a commercial side. I made...

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