The 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 museum and creative ecosystem.
The Residency, which ran from 13–19 September 2026, marked an important milestone in YSMA’s growing international engagement following the Museum’s admission earlier this year into TheMuseumsLab Partner Museums Network, a network that currently connects 66 museums and cultural institutions across 21 countries in Africa and Europe.
TheMuseumsLab is an African-European joint-learning programme for 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 and combines learning modules with professional residencies at partner museums.
YSMA’s first Residency brings together Jessica Juckes, British Art Network Manager at Tate, United Kingdom, and Jim Joel Nyakaana, Ugandan artist, photographer, curator and researcher associated with Page 4 Cinema Archive.
The Residency was designed around the Fellows’ respective professional interests while providing an opportunity for them to encounter YSMA, Pan-Atlantic University and the wider cultural landscape of Lagos. Their programme included guided engagement with the YSMA collection, conversations with the Museum’s Director and Curator, meetings with university leadership, engagements with the Pan-Atlantic University students, an artist studio visit, and conversations with cultural organisations and practitioners.
The Fellows also facilitated a workshop for undergraduate students of Pan-Atlantic University, exploring photography, digital storytelling, editorial practice, exhibitions and public installations. The session generated an extensive exchange between the Fellows and students, with the Fellows noting the depth and thoughtfulness of the students’ questions and contributions.
Reflecting on his experience at YSMA, Jim Joel Nyakaana said:
“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. I have also been thinking about the collection not simply as a body of objects, but as a space through which different stories, memories and questions can be encountered. The conversations with the Museum team and the students have given me a lot to reflect on in relation to my own work around archives, photography and memory.”
For Jessica Juckes, the Residency has offered an opportunity to examine the relationship between museums, art organizations, artists and audiences from a different institutional and geographical context.
“One of the things I have found particularly valuable about the Residency is the opportunity to understand YSMA not only through its collection, but through the people and relationships around it. Being part of conversations with the Museum team, students, artists and cultural organisations has made the experience much broader than a museum visit. The exchange has encouraged me to think about how museums can create spaces for learning, professional connection and dialogue, and about the different ways these possibilities can be shaped by local context.”
The Residency has also provided opportunities for the Fellows to engage with the broader Lagos cultural ecosystem, including conversations with artists, galleries, artist-support organisations and other cultural institutions. These engagements are intended to deepen their understanding of Nigeria’s cultural landscape while creating opportunities for knowledge exchange between African and European museum professionals.
As Lead Facilitator of the Residency, Solomon Nkwagu, Head of Corporate Communication and Visitors’ Services at YSMA, described the experience as an opportunity for the Museum to place its own practice within a wider international conversation.
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