📞 For our new series, #ArtBaselAwards medalist Azu Nwagbogu (azubogu) called up fellow medalist Mercedes Vilardell to hear about her work...straight from the source. Azu Nwagbogu is an internationally acclaimed curator focused on evolving new models of engagement around decolonization, restitution, and repatriation. Honored this year in the Curator category, he is the Founder and Director of the African Artists’ Foundation (aaf_lagos) and LagosPhoto Biennale (lagosphotofestival) in Lagos, Nigeria, and publisher of ArtBaseAfrica. Nwagbogu is an Explorer at Large with the National Geographic Society and has been listed on the ArtReview Power 100 (2021–2026). In 2024, he curated the first-ever Benin Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale. Mercedes Vilardell is a collector and phillanthropist honored this year in the Patron category. She is a Member of the African Acquisitions Committee at Tate Modern, where she was Chair for 10 years, as well as a Member of the African Circle at the Cent...