Project profile: Meet at the Square

Malaika Toyo, Lagos, Nigeria

An experimental public space installation that focuses on encouraging social interaction across communities through the collective creation of a live art gallery which invited citizens to write or paint a response to the provocation ‘what does community mean to you?’

Meet at the Square was a three day interactive installation inspired by the African village square, which by day is traditionally known as a space for social interaction and trade and at night comes alive as a hub that creates a nexus between play, storytelling and artistic display.

Taking place at Campos Square, which was adopted by the Lagos state Government Ministry of Youth and Social Development and renovated by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWSLO), the square serves the community and its residents in several ways. It has several political purposes such as meetings, manifestos, rallies and awareness programs as well as being used by various religious organisations and schools.

Our intention was to work with an artist team, including artisans from the local community, to create a hyper-interactive open-access art gallery anchored by children and their families through live painting and play. We wanted to engage a diverse audience through interactivity and inspire them to challenge, think and reimagine the use of public spaces in Lagos.

“Through our project Meet At The Square, the Creative Producers International investment fund gave my organization, Made Culture, the support we needed to prototype our co-design approach to delivering projects. It lends itself to gathering context-driven evidence that can be used to inform conversations on city development and urban planning.”
– Malaika Toyo, Lagos