Founder/Director

ARTOJA is an online marketplace and creative production company for contemporary art and design in Africa. ARTOJA commissions artists to produce limited edition fine art prints, and features original works of contemporary art including painting, sculpture, photography and mixed media. ARTOJA also produces an online journal that profiles the key ideas, players and events that are shaping contemporary African art. 

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VISIT ARTOJA

Senior Editor, 2017-ongoing

Moon Man is an experimental publication inspired by global contemporary art and design. Moon Man works with leading graphic designers to produce a limited edition volume of five editions over three-years. The first edition of Moon Man was released in October 2017 with a launch during Frieze Week in London. 

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ABOUT MOON MAN

Director, 2015-ongoing

As director of the Arthouse Foundation's Artist Residency Programme, the non-profit organization of Arthouse Contemporary in Lagos, Nigeria, I organize their annual projects and exhibitions. The residency offers artists three-month residencies in Lagos, alongside workshops, talks and a final exhibition. 

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ABOUT ARTHOUSE FOUNDATION

Specialist/Curator, 2015-ongoing

As Specialist/Curator at Arthouse Contemporary, the international auction house specializing in West African art based in Lagos, Nigeria, I coordinate the bi-annual auctions of modern and contemporary art as well as the annual Affordable Art Auction. I also coordinate exhibitions with Arthouse-The Space. 

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ABOUT ARTHOUSE CONTEMPORARY

Participant, April 19-25, 2017

Organized by ICI (Independent Curators International) and the Foundation for Contemporary Art, Ghana, this professional development program offers curators the opportunity to discuss, among colleagues, the concepts, logistics, and challenges of organizing exhibitions, public programs, and other curatorial models.

Moderator, Art X Lagos, November 4-6, 2016

As part of the Talks Programme for the Art X Lagos Art Fair in Lagos, Nigeria, November 4-6, 2016, I moderated a panel discussion entitled "Collecting Beyond the Familiar," which questioned how local collectors can expand their interest to non-traditional art mediums. With panelists including Uche Okpa-Iroha, Oyinda Fakeye and Hakeem Adedeji, this panel discussion considered how artists and collectors grapple with marketing works of photography, video, sound art and performance. 

Participant, 2016

As part of the Curatorial Program for Research (CPR) fellowship, I took part in a research trip to Eastern Europe to explore the contemporary art communities in Kiev, Warsaw and Prague. Along with 8 other international curators from diverse geographic locales, we toured three countries over 22 days, meeting with artists, gallerists, museums and independent spaces. We also took part in a public presentation of our work at Izolatsyia, a non-profit institution in Kiev, Ukraine, to discuss JG | Curatorial Projects projects in Africa. 

Grant/Project Coordinator

YECA is a mentorship program targeting the youth population in communities in Lagos through art courses, mentorship, and exhibition opportunities. The aim of YECA is to provide vocational training, the acquisition of livelihood skills, and a solid extracurricular outlet for youths in secondary schools and to position art as a viable career path. As Grant and Project Coordinator, I worked with a team at the African Artists' Foundation to conceive the project and successfully obtain for funding through the Ford Foundation, as well as coordinate the project. 

Grant/Project Coordinator, 2012-2014

Art Base Africa is an online database and quarterly journal for contemporary African art, launched in 2013 by the African Artists' Foundation with major support from the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development. As Grant and Project Coordinator, I developed the project, successfully applied for grants, gathered content and contributions for issues, and wrote critical analysis of practicing African artists.

Grant Coordinator, 2013

FOTObook was a cultural exchange program between designers in the Netherlands and Nigerian artists and photographers, promoting aspects of art book design and publication. The two-part project included a Nigerian delegation to travel to Amsterdam to meet with designers and artists, as well as a Master Class of Dutch book designers, led by Teun van der Heijden, for Nigerian artists during LagosPhoto 2013. FOTObook was organized by LagosPhoto and supported by the Mondriaan Fund. 

Co-Coordinator, 2012-2014

The National Art Competition is an annual platform organized by the African Artists' Foundation to advance the next generation of contemporary artists in Nigeria, promoting the conceptual development of contemporary art across mediums. As Co-Coordinator, I conceptualized annual themes, coordinated the artist selection committee for submissions led by Professor El Anatsui, organized the week-long artist retreat, and curatorial and event management for the final exhibition and judging ceremony.

Moderator, Social Media Week, British Council, Lagos, Nigeria, February 2014

This panel discussion focused on the evolving status of arts journalism in the digital age, with particular attention to how embracing online platforms can benefit the arts community in Nigeria. Panelists included Oliver Enwonwu (Omenka Magazine), Kate Sutton (Artforum), Alexis Okeowo (The New Yorker), Cecelia Stucker (Curator), Chiagozie Nwonwu (British Council), and Joseph Gergel (Curator). This event also served as the launch of Art Base Africa, organized by the African Artists' Foundation. 

Moderator, LagosPhoto 2013, Lagos, Nigeria, October 2013.

This panel discussion explored the theme of LagosPhoto 2013, with artists including Jerome Delay, Uche Okpa-Iroha, Joe Penney, Hans Wilschut, Cristina de Middel, Ayana V. Jackson, Lindsay Sawyer, and THANKSTHANKSAFRICA. 

Moderator, Social Media Week, Lagos, Nigeria, African Artists' Foundation, February 2013

This panel discussion included a group of Nigerian artists and cultural producers whose work deals with the effects of technology, the internet, the digital revolution, and social media, and the ways that it creates new paradigms for individual and collective world view. Panelists included Nigerian artists Uche Uzorka, Ike Francis, Temitayo Ogunbiyi, THANKSTHANKSAFRICA, and cultural producers Etim Eyo, and Tintin Omevbore. 

Moderator, LagosPhoto 2012, Lagos, Nigeria, October 16, 2012

This panel discussion included partcipants in LagosPhoto 2012 who spoke about their experiencees exucuting photographic projects in Nigeria and how photography can benefit positive social change. Participants included Kelechi Amadi-Obi (Nigeria), Akintunde Akinleye (Nigeria), Stanley Greene (USA), and Joe Penney (USA). 

Columbia University, Department of Art History and Archeology, Fall 2011-Spring 2012

Works in Progress: Artists and Art Historians Present (WiP) is a program that brings together graduate students and faculty from Columbia University’s Art History and Visual Arts Departments to discuss their work and related topics.