G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive

 

The G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive was born in 2022 when G.A.S. Foundation received the incredible donation of a lifelong personal library collection from Emeritus Professor John Picton and Sue Picton. Since then, our library has continued to grow in size and reach thanks to the generous and unwavering support from our patrons, residents, and wider community.

A Brief History

The Picton Reference Collection and Archive consists of 1500 volumes collected over six decades covering 49 research categories majorly on the visual arts of Sub-Saharan Africa and its diaspora. Since its inception in 1960s Lagos, the collection has served as a crucial resource, informing the incredible Picton legacy within African art. In 2023, the second instalment of the collection arrived safely in Lagos from its former residence at the Picton family home in England.

 

Housed in G.A.S. Lagos' purpose-built library cabinets, the collection is an open resource for residents and researchers in Nigeria.⁠ With the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive’s rich upcoming programme, the collection will live on as a point of reference for those wishing to enrich and deepen their knowledge of African history and visual culture. 

 

Read our interview with John and Sue Picton

Our Library Programme

 
We are pleased to announce that our upcoming inaugural library activation programme, Re:assemblages, is generously supported through the Outset Partners 2024 Impact Award. Focussed on knowledge creation, capacity building, and cultural heritage preservation.

 

Re:assemblages will leverage on our international network of African art libraries (African Arts Libraries Lab) and support from seven partner organisations, to deliver five library focused residencies, a symposium, and several new publications around archival African materials.


Join us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter to get exciting updates about Re:assemblages.

 

Learn More About Re:assemblages
Event: École du Festival - Study Day

Event: École du Festival - Study Day

Join us at G.A.S. Lagos for École du Festival, a collaborative and experimental Study Day focused...

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Event: Into the Timeline - A Research Collage of Pan-African Festivals

Event: Into the Timeline - A Research...

The Open Research Room is the second and final public activation of G.A.S. Foundation’s...

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Event: Reading Pan-African Festivals - Archival Encounters at G.A.S.

Event: Reading Pan-African Festivals...

Are you interested in exploring the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive? Five weeks into the...

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Introducing Annotations Programme Curators Naima Hassan and Maryam Kazeem

Introducing Annotations Programme...

Annotations is a six-month project that explores major African cultural festivals and their dual...

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How You Can Support Our Foundation

Your generous contributions support the Foundation’s distinctive interdisciplinary residencies, research, education programmes and public events.

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