Shyllon Museum deepens global ties with First TheMuseumsLab Residency

Jim Joel Nyakaana Facilitating a Workshop for Pan-Atlantic University Students during TheMuseumsLab Residency at YSMA on September 16, 2026

TheMuseumsLab Residency Fellows at YSMA, L-R: Administrative Officer, YSMA, Glory Okwara; Director, YSMA, Jess Castellote; TheMuseumsLab 2026 Fellow, Jessica Juckes (UK); TheMuseumsLab 2026 Fellow, Jim Joel Nyakaana (Uganda) and Head of Corporate Communication and Visitors’ Services, YSMA, Solomon Nkwagu .

Stanley Ihedigbo

Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA), Pan-Atlantic University, has hosted its first residency under TheMuseumsLab Fellowship, welcoming two cultural professionals from the United Kingdom and Uganda for a week of professional exchange, learning and engagement with Nigeria’s art and museum sector.

The residency, which ran from September 13 to 19, 2026, marked a milestone in the museum’s international engagement following its admission earlier in the year into TheMuseumsLab Partner Museums Network, which connects 66 museums and cultural institutions across 21 countries in Africa and Europe.

TheMuseumsLab is an African-European joint-learning programme designed to develop emerging leaders in museums, heritage and cultural institutions.

Its 2026 fellowship, themed “Building Futures from Memory: Museums and Memorial Sites as Agents,” brings together 50 fellows from 31 African and European countries through learning modules and professional residencies at partner museums.

The YSMA residency featured Jessica Juckes, British Art Network Manager at Tate in the United Kingdom, and Jim Joel Nyakaana, a Ugandan artist, photographer, curator and researcher associated with Page 4 Cinema Archive.

The programme was tailored to the fellows’ professional interests and provided opportunities to explore the museum, Pan-Atlantic University and the wider cultural landscape of Lagos.

Activities included guided engagement with the museum’s collection, discussions with its director and curator, meetings with university leadership, interactions with students, an artist studio visit and engagements with cultural organisations and practitioners.

The fellows also facilitated a workshop for Pan-Atlantic University undergraduates, focusing on photography, digital storytelling, editorial practice, exhibitions and public installations.

The session encouraged an exchange of ideas between the visiting professionals and students, with the fellows commending the depth of the students’ questions and contributions.

Reflecting on the residency, Nyakaana said the museum’s location within a university environment created opportunities to connect art with learning, research and student engagement.

“What has stood out for me is the way YSMA sits within a university environment and how that creates possibilities for the Museum to engage directly with learning, research and students,” he said.

He added that engaging with the museum’s collection had encouraged him to consider how artworks could serve as avenues for exploring stories, memories and questions relevant to his work on archives, photography and memory.

For Juckes, the residency offered an opportunity to examine the relationships between museums, art organisations, artists and audiences within a different institutional and geographical context.

She said interactions with the museum team, students, artists and cultural organisations had broadened her experience beyond a conventional museum visit.

The exchange, she noted, had prompted further reflection on how museums could create spaces for learning, professional connections and dialogue while responding to their local contexts.

The residency also enabled the fellows to engage with Lagos’s wider cultural ecosystem through conversations with artists, galleries, artist-support organisations and other cultural institutions.

These engagements were intended to deepen their understanding of Nigeria’s cultural landscape and promote knowledge exchange between African and European museum professionals.

Head of Corporate Communication and Visitors’ Services at YSMA and lead facilitator of the residency, Solomon Nkwagu, described the programme as an opportunity for the museum to situate its work within broader international conversations about art, heritage and cultural practice.

According to him, hosting the residency involved more than receiving international visitors, as it also created opportunities for the museum’s staff, students and partners to exchange ideas and perspectives.

He said the institution sought to demonstrate its role not only as a centre for collecting and exhibiting artworks but also as a platform for teaching, engagement, critical inquiry and relationship-building.

Nkwagu added that the exchange benefited both the visiting fellows and the host institution, particularly through discussions with museum staff and interactions with students.

The experience, he said, demonstrated the value of creating spaces where knowledge could move freely between cultural practitioners, institutions and young people.

The residency forms part of TheMuseumsLab’s broader efforts to strengthen professional networks and collaboration among museums and cultural institutions across Africa and Europe.

Through its partner network, the programme facilitates intensive residencies in which fellows and host institutions exchange approaches, test ideas and learn from one another’s professional experiences.

For YSMA, the programme represents another step in its development as a centre for learning, professional exchange, cultural dialogue and public engagement.

It also reinforces the museum’s commitment to exposing its university community to international practitioners and contemporary discussions in the museum, art and cultural sectors.