• Source: Aderemi Adegbite

Aderemi Adegbite (born 1982, Yoruba, Lagos, Nigeria) is a contemporary artist-curator, poet, and publisher.




Early life & Career


Aderemi was born Abdullah Aderemilekun Adegbite in Iwaya, Lagos State, Nigeria, a neighbouring community to Makoko both on the land and waterfront. At age 9, he relocated to his home town, Inisa where he lived with his aunt until he was 12. He returned to Lagos to live with his parents and further his education.
At an early age, Aderemi would freely draw on the back page of coupons in his father's Pool House and past the drawings on the wall. He spent several years learning from his father, the business of gambling determined by the winnings and draws of the UEFA Champions League.
Subsequently, he started his independent artistic career partly as self-taught and partly through internships which exposed him to working with renowned cultural producers and curators through projects such as the travelling exhibition titled: “Africa: See You, See Me,” curated by Prof. Awam Amkpa of New York University and “White Money” a project of Flinn Works in Berlin, Germany. In 2010, he conceived a project, P.A.G.E.S – a confluence of visual art and literature. This project got the approval of the late Bisi Silva, and it was part of several exhibitions at the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA, Lagos) until 2013. His curatorial interest is in the interception between literature, performance, and social and visual arts. He has consistently collaborated with local and international performance artists on his social art projects.




Vernacular Art-space Laboratory


In May 2016, the Vernacular Art-space Laboratory (VAL Lagos) started as a non-space artist-led and artist-run initiative with its first project being the Iwaya Community Art Festival which metamorphosed into the Iwaya Community Art Biennial. A platform founded by Aderemi is dedicated to promoting artists' projects that serve as conduits for disseminating artistic interventions. The series of community interventions and projects on this platform embody Aderemi's belief in the power of art as a catalyst for social change.
More than fifteen international artists have participated in the festival since 2016, apart from Communal Re-Imagination – an alternative art education program funded by the Prince Claus Fund through its Next Generation grant. VAL Lagos continues to work with young people in the Iwaya Community and environs with projects like VAL Satellite Lab – an extracurricular art program in collaboration with high schools around the community.




Tutuola Institute


The Tutùọlá Institute is an alternative artistic platform for critical reflection and practices in our post-colonial world. The institute aims to promote the Yoruba language, philosophy, spirituality and culture in selected countries while fostering international cooperation and collaboration with private and public cultural institutions, artist collectives and networks within the creative industries. As an artistic intervention, it challenges the concept of "cultural relations" and "soft power" used by the Global North as an instrument of foreign mission.
The institute was inaugurated in 2021 at Sophiensaele, Berlin, it invited artists from Germany, Brazil, and Tanzania whose works reflect the theme of inequality and humanity. The White Money project addresses the complex issues surrounding the management of money and the phenomenon of power games between institutions and cultural actors in the Global North and the Global South.
Tutùọlá Institute is registered as a private company Limited by Guarantee Charity in Nigeria with the registration number: RC: 1839417. And with a home office in Iwaya Community on Lagos Mainland.
Aderemi Adegbite is the Director-at-Large of Tutùọlá Institute.




Curatorial projects


2020-2022 John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History – Museum's Subject Curator.
2022 “Erections Are Coming” an online exhibition. Co-curator with Ayodele Arigbabu
2021 “No Victor, No Vanquished: The World At The Crossroads” – Iwaya Community Art Biennial – I C A B Lagos 2021. Artistic Director/Curator
2021 “We Live In The Abroad” – Inaugural exhibition of Tutuola Institut Director-at-Large/Curator
2021 Ogbon Ologbon –Wisdom of the Other– Communal Re-Imagination II Graduate Exhibition. Artistic Director/Curator
2021 “Postscripts” – a group exhibition on COVID-19. Artistic Director/Curator
2019 Irin Ajo – Journeying Moment - Communal Re-Imagination Graduate Exhibition. Artistic Director/Curator
2016 – 2018 Iwaya Community Art Festival (I C A F Lagos) – a community-based international art festival. Artistic Director/Curator
2011 – 2013 Africa: See You, See Me, a travelling photography exhibition at Iwalewa Centre of Art (Bayreuth, Germany), the Macau National Museum of Art (Macau, Republic of China), Goethe Institut (Dakar, Senegal), the National Museum of Nigeria and Nike Art Gallery (Nigeria) – Assistant Curator to Prof. Awam Amkpa - NYU
2009 – 2013 P.A.G.E.S, a confluence of writers and artists in collaboration with the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) Lagos in Nigeria– Curator
2008 – 2009 Fashion Revolution, a fashion talent exhibition in Nigeria – Curator
2006 – 2010 POETRY POTTER, a monthly literary and performing arts in Lagos, Nigeria – Curator




Awards and residencies


2022/23 Fellowship at Akademie Schloss Solitude, Germany
2021 Flinn Works funded by Fonds Darstellende Künste, Berlin Germany
2021 British Council, Nigeria – Multiplier Lab Grant for Communal Re-Imagination
2018 Prince Claus Fund - Next Generation Grant for Communal Re-Imagination - an Alternative Community Art School project.
2017 HELLERAU – European Center for the Arts, Dresden, Germany
2017 Grigri Pixel Residency programme, Madrid, Spain.
2016 The African Sun Center in Bamako, Mali
2015 Yayasan Biennale Yogyakarta, Indonesia
2015/2016 Visiting Artist at Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), University of Bayreuth, Germany
2009 Visiting Program by Goethe Institut, Berlin, Germany




Publishing


2017 ‘Romance and Reasons’ a poetry collection by Aderemi Adegbite, published by Image Books
2017 ‘We’re are Fish’ a poetry collection by Ahmed Maiwada, published by Image Books
2014 ‘Symphony of Becoming’ a poetry collection by Iquo Eke, published by Image Books
2011 ‘Endless Roads’ a poetry collection by Ralph Tathagata, published by Image Books




Selected Exhibitions






= Solo

=
2022 The PATH of Those Whom YOU Bestowed Favour at Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA Lagos) curated by Dr. Lekan Balogun
2019 Guide Us To The Right Path at Vernacular Art-space Laboratory, Lagos, Nigeria.
2017 City and The Missing Link at Hole of Fame, Dresden, Germany.
2016 Time Out+ Off Exhibition at Dak’Art Biennale, (Nigerian Embassy) Senegal.
2016 WHO at Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), Bayreuth, German
2014 PowerLines at The Osh Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
2014 Through My Eyes at the Kongress Center Rosengarten, Mannheim, Germany 2012
2014 N65 at Goethe Institut Lagos, Nigeria
2014 N65 at Goethe Institut Dakar, Senegal




= Group

=
2023 “Currently Available” at Akademie Schloss Solitude
2023 “Taking a break from everything” in The One Minute's REST HARD exhibition at Office Party Delhi
2021 “White Money” – Launching of Tutuola Institute – Sophiensele, Berlin, Germany
2020 “Gazing at COVID-19 in Arts and Beyond” – Iwawalewa Haus, Bayreuth (virtual exhibition)
2020 “Where I'm Coming From' (WICF)” - Guest Project Digital
2019 City Prince/sses at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, curated by Hugo Vitrani and Fabien Danesi
2017 “O Triângulo do Atlântico” 11ª Bienal at SARACVRA in Brazil, curated by Alfons Hug and Paula Borghi
2017 "Africa: Significaciones" in Havana, Cuba curated by Prof. Awam Amkpa
2017 “ORI” at [a]FA Lagos Legacy Laboratory in Lagos, curated by Baerbel Mueller
2014: ARENA, Center of Contemporary Art, Torun, Poland
2015: Biennale Jogja XIII, Equator No. 3 2015, Indonesia




References






External links


Official website
https://othernetwork.io/entries/tutuola-institute
https://contemporaryand.com/magazines/embracing-solitude-and-empowering-communities/
https://guardian.ng/art/the-agony-of-culture-activist-aderemi/

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Aderemi Adegbite
• Amos Tutuola
• Revolving Art Incubator
• Inisa
• Tejumade Alakija
• Ethel Ekpe
• Fabien Danesi
• Olufela Omokeko
• Oba Okunade Sijuwade
• Yusuf Olatunji