Frieze London 2025 introduces a new curated section called Echoes in the Present, organized by Nigerian art historian Jareh Das. The section features eight galleries and ten artists, exploring the bidirectional cultural flow between Africa and Brazil, rooted in the history of the transatlantic slave trade. Artists like Bunmi Agusto present works that delve into personal and collective histories, such as Agusto's paintings about her great-great grandfather, a Nigerian returnee from slavery in Brazil.
This section matters because it addresses a historically underexplored relationship between Africa and Brazil, highlighting how enslaved Africans and their descendants shaped both regions' cultures. It builds on a growing wave of exhibitions, such as Afro-Atlantic Histories and Brazil and Africa: a shared history, that revisit this legacy. By focusing on contemporary artistic practices, Echoes in the Present moves beyond simply recounting the trauma of the slave trade to examine ongoing cultural connections, memory, and identity in the present moment.