MARCELLINA AKPOJOTOR
Born in 1989 in Lagos, Nigeria, Marcellina Akpojotor had her first apprenticeship under her father; assisting him with drawing, design, stencil, writing and calligraphy work before she eventually moved on to study Art and Industrial Design at the Lagos State Polytechnic.
Employing collaging and traditional painting techniques, Akpojotor produces richly textured and layered work with compelling visual imagery exploring femininity, personal and societal identity and issues surrounding women empowerment in contemporary society. Working primarily with discarded pieces of the Ankara fabric ─ sourced from local fashion houses ─ commonly known as the ‘African print fabric’ despite its Dutch origin, she investigates the politics of the fabric as a cultural signifier and a conduit for memory and shared energy.
In her work, Akpojotor presents powerful images that at once captures the unyielding strength, complexities and seemingly effortless style of her subjects while also referencing the long, arduous journey to female empowerment and gender equality, especially in contemporary African societies.
In 2015, Akpojotor participated in Make We Do, a performance workshop by Afiriperfoma at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, and in 2016, the 19th Bone Performance Art Festival, in Bern, Switzerland as well as ‘Onobrakpeya and the Harmattan workshop’, at Lagos Court of Arbitration, Lagos. In 2017, she was selected to be part of the Rele Arts Foundation Young Contemporaries exhibition and was awarded the Ronke Ekwensi Salon fellowship following the publication of the book ‘The Art of Nigerian Women’ by Ben Bosah in which she was profiled. Akpojotor has also taken part in several group exhibitions including; Sisters: The Art of Nigerian Women in 2018 at the Carnegie Gallery, Columbus, Ohio and the Young Contemporaries Alumni Exhibition, New Directions in 2020 at the National Museum, Lagos. Her work, Tobi (2015) was used as the cover image for the novel Jagua Nana by Nigerian author Cyprian Ekwensi first published in 1961, and republished under Penguin Random Art ‘Modern Classic’ which was released in May 2018. Her work has also been featured on Harper’s Bazaar, BBC Nigeria, the Goethe Institut and Channels TV.
Marcellina Akpojotor had her first solo exhibition She Was Not Dreaming at Rele Gallery in 2018 and has participated in prominent art fairs across the world including the FNB Art Joburg Fair 2019 (South Africa), Art Dubai 2020 (Dubai) and the 2020 edition of the LA Art Show (USA).
MARCELLINA AKPOJOTOR
- 1989, Lagos, Nigeria
Education
- National Diploma in Art and Industrial Design, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu.
2019 BA in Fine and Applied Art, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife.
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Ode to Beautiful Memories, Rele Gallery, Art Basel Miami, USA
2021 Daughters of Esan: The Alpha Generation, Rele Gallery, Los Angeles.
2018 She Was Not Dreaming, Rele Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria.
Group Exhibitions
2021 Silent Thread, Montenegro Art Projects, Bogota, Colombia
2021 Mother of Mankind, Ada Accra & House of Fine Art, London
2021 Orita Meta: Crossroads, Rele Los Angeles, Melrose,
2020 African Art Galleries Now, Artsy Online Event
2020 Black Voices: Friend of my Mind, Ross Sutton Gallery, USA
2020 FNB Art Joburg, Online: Rele Gallery, South Africa
2020 Rethinking Materiality, Rele Art Foundation, Google Arts & Culture
2020 Art Dubai, Online: Rele Gallery, UAE
2020 Rele at LA Art show, Los Angeles, USA
2020 Young Contemporaries Alumni, National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
2019 It’s a Wrap (Rele Art Party), Rele Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
2019 Rele in FNB Art Joburg, South Africa
2018 Rele in Los Angeles, Regus Colorado Centre, Los Angeles, USA.
2018 Sisters: The Art of Nigerian Women, Carnegie Gallery, Columbus
Metropolitan Library, USA.
2017 Sisters, A salon, New Jersey, USA
2017 Young Contemporaries, Rele Art Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
2017 Standing Out II, SMO Contemporary Art, Wheatbaker Hotel, Lagos,
Nigeria.
2017 It’s not furniture, Omenka Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria.
2016 Onobrakpeya and the Harmattan Workshop, Lagos Court of Arbitration, Lagos, Nigeria.
Awards, Grants and Fellowships
2017 Rele Art Foudation Grant.
2016 Ronke Ekwensi Salon Fellowship
2013 1st Prize, Off the Bin Project, Art Competition.
Residency
2021 Fountainhead Residency, Miami, USA
Workshops and Festivals
2016 19th Bone Performance Art Festival, Bern, Switzerland.
2016 2nd Afiriperfoma Performance Biennial, Lagos, Nigeria.
2015 Afiriperfoma Performance Art Workshop, Lagos, Nigeria.
2015 16th Harmattan Workshop, Painting Section, Delta, Nigeria.
2014 15th Harmattan Workshop, Painting Section, Delta, Nigeria.
ARTIST TALKS
2021 Fowler Museum ULCA Online program, Rele Gallery and Orita Meta – Crossroads
TEACHING AND WORKSHOP
2019 Back to Base – Young Contemporaries Art Workshop for Student. Keke Senior high School, Agege, Lagos