ART AFRICA features LAGO Collective and our Founder, Marta Foresti. The article reflects on LAGO’s approach at the intersection of research, creative practice and policy, and how narratives of movement are reshaping how we imagine cities today.

Hosted by Marta Foresti, LAGO Collective's founder and CEO, (un)common ground is a podcast series on movement, borders and everything in between. Available on all streaming platforms.

LAGO is working with Wonder Cabinet, a space for art production and cultural development founded by AAU Anastas, based in Bethlehem, Palestine - fundraising to support, protect and celebrate spaces of wonder across borders. Follow the link to donate!

How can we help the creative economy in cities flourish even further? Marta Foresti explains how greater public and private investment can unlock its full potential and help creatives truly thrive.

At this year’s Global Design Forum, LAGO’s Founder Marta Foresti joined Dr Torange Khonsari, James Lee and Tom Lloyd RDI FRSA for a panel moderated by Debika Ray. The session explored how cities emerge, decline and relocate as creative hubs.

LAGO's Founder and CEO, Marta Foresti, joins King's College London as Visiting Professor of Practice in the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries (King's Arts & Humanities).

In this Substack, curated by Marta Foresti and the LAGO Collective team, you'll find thoughts, images and sounds that help build bridges across the real and imaginary borders that divide us.

We are now looking for a Marketing and PR Associate to help take LAGO to the next level of impact by deepening and expanding LAGO’s brand awareness and engagement amongst its key audiences in the creative industries, policy and research communities.

The conversation with Marta Foresti, Peter Hall and Marcin Nowiki, chaired by Victoria Broackes, Director of the London Design Biennale, considers how contemporary design can translate temporal inequalities into aesthetic and material forms.

Semafor Africa covers LAGO's analysis of short-term visa applications to Europe in 2024. The article by Alexander Onukwue highlights that Comoros, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria and Ghana had the highest rejection rates, above 45% in each case.

Coverage by CNN shows LAGO's analysis of 2024 Schengen (short-term) visa rejection rates and their associated costs. Findings reveal that applications from the African continent lost nearly $70M to denied visas applications in 2024.

The Global Creative Economy Council is convened by Creative PEC and the British Council, and brings together 15 leading academics, practitioners, policy professionals and investors from five continents.

The two year partnership between LAGO Foundation & Robert Bosch Stiftung will deepen LAGO's work on visa inequality, raise awareness on its implications & help shape a more constructive narrative on the opportunities presented by human mobility.

LAGO's founder Marta Foresti joins an important conversation on 'Visualising Inequality' featuring information designer Federica Fragapane and Editor in Chief of Design Boom Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou.

Senior Producer, Kenji Maghoma, presented LAGO's work on visa inequality at the Beyond Horizon conference in Dakar. This included a screening of 'Stories of Visa Inequality' produced in collaboration with Oroko Radio & PRJCT.Kumasi.

LAGO's first time at Skoll World Forum included panels, parties and screenings featuring friends and partners including Moleskine Foundation, The Sidebar, Oroko Radio, David McNair, Eloise Todd, Aggrey Aluso, Damilola Onafua, Mori Thomson & more!

Based in Accra, Rita will join Marvin Rees OBE, Visiting Senior Fellow at ODI Global, in supporting our work with cities through the Mayors’ Dialogue.

LAGO joins other London based creatives and entrepreneurs in the iconic building, Somerset House in London. Somerset House Exchange is an initiative that provides affordable space and useful connections for creatives. Come and visit the team!

LAGO Foundation is a not-for-profit entity based in Milan, to expand our work in public goods, culture, knowledge & creative production. This will allow us to work with partners in the public & philanthropic sector who support us & share our vision.

Stories of Visa Inequality, the short film produced in collaboration with Oroko Radio, LAGO Collective and PRJCT.Kumasi is screened at Unseen Nairobi for the Ghana edition of Vuka Mpaka curated by Pass Pass.

This new resource hub brings together a growing body of work on culture and the creative economy, curated in collaboration with LAGO – one of ODI Global's partners. The hub features data visualisations, films, blogs, podcasts, research & more!

In this episode of the AIGA Design Podcast, hosts Lee-Sean Huang & Giulia Donatello interview Marta Foresti & Federica Fragapane. For Marta and Federica, their projects are about performing for the audience - engaging them in a meaningful way.

The African Leadership Centre (ALC) hosts a seminar by Marta Foresti and Federica Fragapane, chaired by Professor Eka Ikpe, Director of the African Leadership Centre at King's with participation from Achieng Akena, Human rights practitioner.

This event, featuring Marta Foresti and Federica Fragapane, explores the design process and motivations behind data visualisation projects, characterised by different usage contexts and with differing levels of experimentation.

LAGO Collective is hosting it's annual evening of celebrations, during the London Migration Film Festival, in collaboration with Moleskine Foundation and Phaidon Press. Taking place on 21st November at the Shoreditch Arts Club in London.

The Mayors’ Dialogue hosted a panel on creativity, culture + migration, highlighting cities as spaces of cultural exchange & the role of policies supporting (or not) creative sectors. Moderated by Marta Foresti with orgs from Accra, Milan & Amman.

We're growing our team and can't wait to hear from you. Get your applications in by Monday 7th October.

Why is it important for the UK to invest in culture, at home and abroad - and what does this actually look like in practice? Marta Foresti writes for ODI Insights.

Marta Foresti interviewed on 'Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit', discussing the cost of visa rejections and the trend, shown by the data, that African countries are disproportionately affected.

An article by 'Art Africa' on this year's Venice Art Biennale, where the theme was “Foreigners Everywhere, Stanieri Ovunque”. The specialist art publication quotes Marta Foresti, discussing LAGO's analysis on visa rejections.

An article by 'The Guardian' on the social and economic challenges that creatives from African and Asian countries face as a result of high visa rejection rates and costs. Figures from LAGO's analysis on visa inequality cited.

Marta Foresti comments for Semafor Africa on high rejection rates of Schengen visa applications by African visitors, sharing LAGO's analysis on 2023 data.

Interview with Al Jazeera Balkans in the beautiful Bazerdzan concept store in Sarajevo discussing talent, creativity and cities working together across borders

Host on Stephanomics to discuss what Ukraine needs women refugees to go back and what would it take. Visa, amongst other things.

Marta Foresti and Fabrizio Barca on the David McWilliams podcast

Marta Foresti interviewed by The National over effects of UK fee increases for African creatives

Panel event at Milan Design Week with BASE, Moleskine and ODI

With Lay Koon Tan of Nature Squared at Rossana Orlandi Gallery at Milan Design Week.

Panel event with Highsnobiety and Moleskine at Milan Design Week.

Interview with Italian radio Radio Popolare.

Article in l Sole 24 Ore on Mayor Sala's visit to London and public event at ODI

A conversation with Zoé von Finck's podcast on why LAGO was created and what it aims to achieve.