Biography
Born in Akure, Nigeria in 1989, I studied law at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2012. In 2015, I obtained an MFA in Art Criticism and Writing from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and graduated with the Paula Rhodes Medal for exceptional achievement in my thesis. Since then, I have produced trans-disciplinary work as a writer, art critic, curator, and social entrepreneur.
As a writer and art critic, I have published three books – a collection of interlinked short stories (Farad), a travelogue (A Stranger’s Pose), and a memoir (I Am Still With You). I have also contributed to dozens of magazines, journals and books in works that span journalism, criticism, memoir and fiction. My other writing has appeared in publications such as Granta, the New York Review of Books, the New York Times. My books have been nominated for major international literary prizes, including the Ondaatje Prize by the Royal Society of Literature (UK), and the Hurston Wright Award for Nonfiction in the Memoir category (US). I have also received other honours, such as the Irving Sandler Award for New Voices in Criticism by AICA-USA, the C/O Berlin Prize for Theory, and the Windham-Campbell Prize in the category of nonfiction. In 2020, I was named on Apollo Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Africa list, for the broad social impact of my work.
Since 2016, I have taught in various educational institutions in the US and UK, including the School of Visual Arts, New York, Hartford Art School, Connecticut, and National Centre for Writing, UK.
I was associate curator for the first-ever Nigerian pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2017).
As an arts administrator, I co-founded Saraba Magazine in 2009, a literary magazine that focused on publishing the work of hundreds of writers. I administered the magazine For 10 years (until 2019), through various roles as co-publisher, managing editor, and director of the nonprofit organization that sourced for grants and fostered partnerships in the cultural sector, including with Etisalat Prize for Literature, Goethe Institut, Miles Morland Foundation and others.
I also worked with Invisible Borders Trans-African Organization, an arts organization focused on photography, from 2011–2016, as director of publications, commissioning and editing work by other writers for the organization’s publications.
In February 2022, I co-founded Tender Photos, a platform of photography, storytelling, and visual literacy. The platform has showcased the work of over 170 early to mid-career photographers, from up to 30 countries. The publication has been featured in several news publications and has led to exhibitions in Africa and Europe.
I am currently enrolled in the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. My PhD in Digital Humanities (as one of the first persons admitted for the programme) focuses on the use of computer vision to analyse conflict photographs. I am also an affiliated scholar of the Machine Visual Culture research group at the Max Planck Institute for Art History, Rome.
I consult for media and cultural organizations on the optimal use of digital methods to enhance access to archives and collections, and on curatorial strategies for interactive exhibitions.
Contact me.
As a writer and art critic, I have published three books – a collection of interlinked short stories (Farad), a travelogue (A Stranger’s Pose), and a memoir (I Am Still With You). I have also contributed to dozens of magazines, journals and books in works that span journalism, criticism, memoir and fiction. My other writing has appeared in publications such as Granta, the New York Review of Books, the New York Times. My books have been nominated for major international literary prizes, including the Ondaatje Prize by the Royal Society of Literature (UK), and the Hurston Wright Award for Nonfiction in the Memoir category (US). I have also received other honours, such as the Irving Sandler Award for New Voices in Criticism by AICA-USA, the C/O Berlin Prize for Theory, and the Windham-Campbell Prize in the category of nonfiction. In 2020, I was named on Apollo Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Africa list, for the broad social impact of my work.
Since 2016, I have taught in various educational institutions in the US and UK, including the School of Visual Arts, New York, Hartford Art School, Connecticut, and National Centre for Writing, UK.
I was associate curator for the first-ever Nigerian pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2017).
As an arts administrator, I co-founded Saraba Magazine in 2009, a literary magazine that focused on publishing the work of hundreds of writers. I administered the magazine For 10 years (until 2019), through various roles as co-publisher, managing editor, and director of the nonprofit organization that sourced for grants and fostered partnerships in the cultural sector, including with Etisalat Prize for Literature, Goethe Institut, Miles Morland Foundation and others.
I also worked with Invisible Borders Trans-African Organization, an arts organization focused on photography, from 2011–2016, as director of publications, commissioning and editing work by other writers for the organization’s publications.
In February 2022, I co-founded Tender Photos, a platform of photography, storytelling, and visual literacy. The platform has showcased the work of over 170 early to mid-career photographers, from up to 30 countries. The publication has been featured in several news publications and has led to exhibitions in Africa and Europe.
I am currently enrolled in the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. My PhD in Digital Humanities (as one of the first persons admitted for the programme) focuses on the use of computer vision to analyse conflict photographs. I am also an affiliated scholar of the Machine Visual Culture research group at the Max Planck Institute for Art History, Rome.
I consult for media and cultural organizations on the optimal use of digital methods to enhance access to archives and collections, and on curatorial strategies for interactive exhibitions.
Contact me.
Photo by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀