Adeyemi Oluwajuwonlo
Adeyemi Oluwajuwonlo, Hails from Ogun State and was raised in Lagos, Nigeria. Her works are inspired by the environment and tell stories about the living experiences and societal issues of people. She seeks to explore different mediums in painting, and make use of kegs to make faces in her works. In her art, the use of kegs helps to reduce pollution in my environment.
“My works show how I use waste to create art.”
Marie Carole Desiree Nassardine
Marie Carole Desiree Nassardine an Ivorian young woman living in Canada. She holds a master’s degree in marketing and design and a bachelor’s degree in Business management. After 7 years of experience in international trading, communication, and marketing, she decided to learn the painting art and then pursue a career in it. Marie Carole also known as M.C.N is a growing artist who creates 2D, 3D paintings most of the time with resin finish. Her inspiration revolves around atypical characters and events, which give uniqueness to her paintings. She believes that everything is spiritual before you see it in the real world. Her goal is to put into painting what people feel, they can’t touch and can’t explain in reality, things that happen inside themselves that might be in another realm, in divine scriptures. She also wants it to be therapeutic so that souls heal.
Keny Akpa
Keny Akpa was born in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, and moved with her parents and siblings to Abidjan, where she attended elementary, middle, and high school. She learned to draw and paint at school. Her talent was revealed to family members when she started reproducing family pictures. For her, it was a hobby, no big deal. She started spending more time painting when she moved to the US to stay with her sisters. When she got married and started raising a family, painting took another turn. She became more passionate, and she discovered what she loved to do: a new door just opened. Life is a beautiful adventure, and she represents it through her painting. Her moods and surroundings played a crucial role in creating her artwork. Painting is an outlet for me, I use it to express what I feel, and I use it to represent how I see and experience life. I am constantly looking to paint something! My paintings are a reflection of my upbringing. During the pandemic, I was sheltered at home with my family. That time gave me the opportunity to redefine
Adaugo Okenwa
Adaugo Okenwa was born in Lagos State, grew up in Maitama, Abuja, and currently lives and study in the UK. She is an artist and a hairstylist, who is seeking to pursue her third law degree (PhD). Her artwork can mostly be described as geometric abstract art. She derives her inspirations from the challenges in her life, and sometimes from nature and animals. Her love for patterns, lines, shapes, and monochrome is what makes her work outstanding.
“My artwork is an exploration of the intricacies and beauty inside and outside my mind, and it brings me great joy when people get to experience it with me.”
Akre Joelle
For Akre, art has been a way of expressing herself. She has managed to convey thoughts she could not even convey in words. She has been sharing most of her work on her social media handles throughout the years. Having a greater platform will give her the wings she longed for so that she can share her art far and wide.
“My artistic universe is inspired by abstract art and cubism, which mixes with a touch of color in my representation of certain environmental and physical facts with a touch of the world of cartoons, which awakens the part of the child in me and ends with an African touch, Ivorian masks, and symbols of Africa.”
Zouho Priscilla
Zouho Priscilla, 20 years old, is an Ivorian student in the social sciences, geography, and regional planning in Toulouse, France. Self-taught, I have been drawing for several years out of passion. I mainly devote myself to portraits of women, adding African characteristics to them.
Tola Adejumo
Tola Adejumo was born and brought up in Benue State and currently residing in Abuja, Nigeria, He is a registered photographer, student, and artist. Tola brings live shots to life by editing and printing my works on canvas and wooden frames. His works are a representation of what he see in my world, which is further expressed through these art pieces.
“My craft is unique in appearance and durable, and if you are a lover of art, I believe you would love them as much as I do. Welcome to my world of solace.”
John Ayoyemi
John Ayoyemi is a skilled, self-taught photorealistic artist known for his remarkable ability to breathe life into his subjects through intricate shading and attention to detail. His works evoke emotions and tell stories, showcasing his exceptional artistic talent. He’s a graduate of Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria, with a B.Sc. in Banking and Finance. Ayoyemi has experimented with various art mediums, including paints and pens, but prefers charcoal pencil as he finds it more fascinating to use in capturing lifelike art and reality on paper. He also adds acrylic paint and African patterns to his art background.
Peter Arte
Born with a profound fascination for the interplay of color, form, and emotion, Peter Arte is a contemporary artist who has carved his own path in the world of visual expression. Through his captivating works, Peter transcends traditional boundaries, inviting viewers into a realm where imagination flourishes and the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Peter Eyinnaya Nwankwor, better known by the moniker “Peter Arte’, hails from Nigeria and is currently creating his works in the country’s capital, Abuja. Peter is a multidisciplinary artist who indulges in both traditional and digital approaches to creating artwork. His artworks reflect a symbiotic relationship between chaos and order, as he employs bold brushstrokes, intricate textures, and a carefully curated color palette to convey the complexity of human existence. Each piece is a testament to his mastery of portrait composition, inviting viewers to contemplate the layers of meaning embedded within.
Kipré Paule Marianne
Kipré Paule Marianne is a pharmacy student living in Dakar, Senegal, of Ivorian origin. She has always loved expressing herself through art because it is through art that she developed certain skills over the years: patience, perseverance, and moderation. Kipré started drawing when she was 5 years old, and it has since become more than a passion for her. From reproduction to acrylic painting to charcoal, Kipré has tried a lot of techniques before launching herself into the new challenge of digital drawing!
“It’s a new universe that she fully intends to take advantage of in order to make her work known and open new doors for herself! She wants to make her contribution to an artistic level and enrich herself as best as possible from other’s experiences and knowledge.
Aziz Konda
Aziz Konda is a self-taught fine artist born in Ivory Coast, West Africa, and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. His work focuses on figurative and abstract subjects portrayed in realism, surrealism, and cartoon styles.
Yaofranck
Yao Frank chose his artist name as a tribute to his late father who left him too soon.
He is a contemporary painter from the center of the Ivory Coast (bouaké), who was born in Yabaya in the Bas-Sassandra region. Yao spent his childhood in Soubré after being displaced from the 2002 war in Ivory Coast. He was forced to halt his studies due to the uncertainities, until 2015 when he managed to resume and joined the Artistic Education High School (LEA), where he obtained my BAC H1. He later then joined ENBA, the National School of Fine Arts in Abidjan today, and ESAPAD (the higher school of plastic arts in architecture and design), where he graduated with a DEAG (general artistic study diploma), a license in mural art, and a DESA (higher artistic study diploma). His experience with the outside world has not always been easy. Yao had a turbulent childhood, troubled by several events, including social-political crises and inter-ethnic conflicts.
Justin Luehr
Justin Luehr is an emerging self-taught artist from Portland, Oregon. His work explores a relationship between modern contemporary art and a representation of neo-expressionism. He believes that his art shows a slight view of the current state of humanity and the society we live in. He derives his inspirations from a variety of everyday experiences and previous and present observations. The pieces he creates are a mix of assorted materials, such as acrylic, ink, charcoal, and aerosols. Most often on large-scale canvas or recycled materials.
“My aspirations for my art are to leave a legacy, to be in galleries with the greats that have inspired me, and to have my art seen by many future generations.”
Tetchi
Born on 01/08/1997 in Offa S/P Agboville in Ivory Coast, TETCHI Yapi Jean Yves is a young artist-painter who graduated from the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Plastiques d’Architecture et de Design d’Abidjan (E.S.A.P.A.D.), ex-Fine Arts, specializing in “painting,” and today teaches plastic arts while practicing his artistic activity. Better known as TETCHI, he lives and works in Abidjan. The artist depicts the daily lives of men in society. He is the spokesperson for the connections and emotions that humans manifest through their different influences. Tetchi’s whole attitude lies in reuniting the world and thus making it more social. With the evolution of individualism throughout the world, the artist Tetchi questions the causes of this alarming phenomenon as well as the means to remedy it. He uses lines to reveal hidden things that exist in an invisible form and that also designate the different zones of influence and the state of mind of each individual: love, friendship, hatred, or hostility.
Prohouly Eboua Joseph
Born in 1996 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Prohouly Eboua Joseph lives and works in Abidjan. PROHOULY makes the representation of sacred “Godié” masks the basis of its creation. As a call “to return to the sources,” he stands out as the last representative of this rich cultural heritage. To revive his entities and faces lost in time, he combines the rustic shapes of the masks with the originality of his time. He therefore uses all the elements that surround him, everything that constitutes his environment: themes, materials.
KEZE
Light. n.m. (Fongbe language) It is in the fragments of the sun at its zenith that Keze finds the energy that he transmits in his works. He found this light for the first time while walking through the Cotonou Crafts Promotion Center. He will never leave; surrounded by arts and traditions, this is where he builds his imagination, overflowing with colors. His curiosity and his first works led him to the roads of Abidjan, where he took the time to develop his universe. With your eyes closed, Keze offers an immersion into the invisible, giving free rein to your mind by seeking closer to yourself the emotions that provide a feeling of freedom.
Alex-Brandon Brou Kadjo
Alex-Brandon Brou Kadjo is a self-taught artist born on July 22, 1998, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. His artistic journey began with early beginnings, as he painted his first wooden canvas at the tender age of 8. However, without proper encouragement and support, art gradually faded into the background of his life, and he sporadically sketched without giving it much thought. It was at the age of 21, while residing in Lille, France, that Alex-Brandon was struck by a powerful wave of nostalgia for his first painting. He felt an irresistible calling to art that overwhelmed him, at times leaving him breathless if he didn’t create something. It was at this moment that he decided to rekindle his passion for painting. His inspiration derives deeply from his everyday life and, most significantly, from his intense interest in spirituality and meditation. His captivating works are a testament to his journey of spiritual awakening, self-connection, and forging connections with others through a vibrant interplay of colors and diverse forms. His primary medium is acrylic, and he specializes in creating abstract works that mirror his ever-evolving perception of the surrounding world. The content of his creations evolves in sync with his changing perspective.
Christine Monteiro
Christine Monteiro, a Senegalese of Cape Verde origin, took up art to help her deal with her shyness. Art has helped her express herself in ways she never imagined. She can convey her inner-most thoughts courageously and make them embraced by people from far and wide… even beyond her home. Art has also help her manage her anxiety and live a quality life.
“Art allows me to bring out my inner self-thoughts. Nature gives us back what it has and each of us sees this life in a different way. The colours, the movements come to us according to our moods. My paintings are therefore a reflection of my emotions from day to day. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, look at the way I see it in my art.”
Yasmine Boudabès Sako
Yasmine Boudabès Sako is a 25-year-old Ivorian, currently a Juris Doctor student at the University of Ottawa in Canada. Yasmine was born and raised in Ivory Coast.
She started drawing when Yasmine was about 6 or 7 years old, she originally wanted to become a fashion designer so she had fun drawing clothes and it became a passion as she grew up.
Yasmine arrived in Canada in 2021 to continue her law studies and that’s where she started painting as a hobby, in the meantime she was already exploring other things like sewing, clothing design and drawings (realistic and hyperrealistic portraits in charcoal, pencil and graphite) and she started sharing her work on social media recently.
She is also really connected to her paintings because they are all the representation of her
thoughts and emotions in color on a canvas. They represent a situation, a stage in her life.
Every piece you see is a page of her story, a part of her open to you.
Emmanuel Adeyemi Adebayo
Emmanuel Adeyemi Adebayo was born on the first of May, 1997, in Lagos, Nigeria. As the son of an artist who ceased his professional practice due to life’s vicissitudes, Emmanuel inherited an artistic legacy that he embraced rather than abandoned. In the quietude of his grandparents’ home, where he still lives and works, Emmanuel taught himself to draw and paint, inspired by the remnants of his father’s past works.
Emmanuel pursued Creative Arts at the University of Lagos but eventually left to explore his talent beyond the confines of academia. This decision marked the beginning of a profound journey of self- discovery and artistic refinement.
By day, Emmanuel scoured his community in Bariga, Lagos, collecting plastic materials. By night, he transformed these found objects into creations that were both innovative and evocative. His unique works soon caught the eye of media houses, local galleries, and individuals captivated by the charm and context of his art, which resonates deeply with viewers in both outdoor and indoor spaces.
Emmanuel’s oeuvre includes paintings and sculptures characterized by dynamic forms and shapes that invite viewers to become both witnesses and participants in the artistic experience. His creations challenge perspectives and perceptions, sparking fresh cycles of thought and imagination.
His exhibitions have graced prestigious venues such as Rele Gallery, Retro Africa, the Brazilian Consulate and State Houses in Nigeria, and Galerie Medina in Mali. He has also shared his insights through talks at various media firms and academic institutions.
Emmanuel envisions a future where he continues to expand and share his knowledge, advocating for “a better space for all.”
Jeremiah Karen
Born in 1998 in Ivory Coast, Jeremiah Karen is a photographer of Ivorian-Ghanaian origin based in Toulouse. Her artistic journey has been shaped by the influence of her father, who passed on his passion for photography to her from a young age. Her journey illustrates how art can be a powerful tool to address important personal and societal issues, while offering a unique perspective shaped by her experiences and cultural heritage.
Today, she is a practicing photographer at ETPA-Ecole de photographie in Toulouse, after 2 years in Chartered Accountancy, a Bachelor in Digital Marketing and a Master in Digital Strategy Management.
Aragbada Stephen
Aragbada Stephen (b.1993) is a highly skilled and expressive visual artist, specializing in painting. His passion for art began in early childhood and has been a driving force throughout his life. Stephen is constantly striving to improve his craft, seeking out new ideas and concepts, and collaborating with other artists to push the boundaries of his work.
Stephen holds a National Diploma (N.D) in Fine Art from The Polytechnic of Ibadan, and has undergone additional training at the Universal Studios of Art in Iganmu, Lagos, Nigeria. He furthered his education at Obafemi Awolowo University, where he earned a B.A in Fine Arts. Stephen is now a full-time practicing studio artist.
His works is focused on capturing the moments and natural phenomena that define the human experience, from colonial times to contemporary times. He celebrates black skin as an African artist, promoting positive representations of blacks, diaspora, and brown skin Africans. As a painter, Stephen uses colors and drawings to document and freeze memories and moments for future reference. His work is highly relatable, allowing viewers to connect deeply with his art.
Stephen’s paintings have been exhibited in art galleries in Nigeria and abroad, and his work has been collected by private art collectors and enthusiasts from around the world. His unique style and powerful message have made him a rising star in the fine art world.
Yegra's
Yegra’s artwork is primarily inspired by verses from the Bible, with a strong focus on creating pieces that resonate with believers. He seeks to provide spiritual inspiration through his art, which is meant to serve as a visual reminder of God’s word in everyday life. His goal is to make biblical teachings more accessible to people with busy schedules by displaying his art in homes, offices and similar spaces. Allowing it to inspire and uplift viewers.
Yegra’s work is often inspired by personal moments of reflection and Bible study.
His art stands as a frontier for sharing faith and spreading the message of Christ.
Gopré Thierry Livasse
Gopré Thierry Livasse, a contemporary painter from Côte d’Ivoire, was born in
Oumé, in the southwest of the country. A graduate of the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Abidjan, he currently lives and works in Abidjan, the Ivorian capital.
In a world in perpetual change, Gopré’s work seeks to capture the fleeting essence of human and social identity through interactions. Through visual works, he explores how identity is constructed and deconstructed, reflecting the rapid transformations of our time.
He is fascinated by the ephemeral nature of individual and collective experiences, and
seeks to capture these transitory moments when the contours of identity become blurred.
By using motifs such as butterflies, leaves or falling flowers, he symbolizes the ephemeral identity of Man.
His artistic approach invites us to reflect on the way societies evolve and on the fragility of identity constructions. Through this slow transformation, Gopré wishes to offer an awareness of the beauty and complexity of our own passage through time.
