The onetime Young British Artist, who has long made works that address his British-Nigerian heritage and the complexities of hybrid identity and postcolonialism, continued to develop his activity in Africa: Safiotra (meaning ‘hybridity’ in Malagasy) took over 2,200sqm of Madagascar’s Fondation H, Shonibare’s first major exhibition on the continent and centred around The African Library (2018), an installation of 6,000 books wrapped in vibrant Dutch wax fabrics. The show also included Shonibare’s quilt works, more of which featuring wildlife and endangered species of the continent, appeared in another show in Africa, also this year, at Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg in October. These shows come as Shonibare’s own foundation, Guest Artist Foundation (G.A.S.), with bases in Lagos and rural Nigeria, grows in stature as a key incubator of talent, brokering partnerships with organisations as varied as Nigeria’s Tilga Art Prize, Deutsche Bank and the Finnish Cultural Foundation to host residencies, events and conferences and generate intracontinental and international exchange.