Across five African cities, independent art spaces (called offspaces in the art world) are reshaping art and urban life through creative resilience and reinvention. These spaces are created by groups of artists who prioritize purpose over profit, in affordable parts of their cities. From Nairobi’s GoDown Arts Centre to Dar es Salaam’s Nafasi Art Space, these DIY institutions thrive on community input, cultural memory, and self-sufficiency. Whether it’s ANO’s mobile museum in Accra or ZOMA’s eco-architecture in Addis Ababa, each space merges art with local identity, public engagement, and storytelling. Cairo’s Townhouse Gallery, though now closed, lives on through its offshoots in the city, like the Access Art Space. As African cities urbanize rapidly, these artist-led spaces don’t just reflect their surroundings—they help reimagine them.
The Conversation