Olatoye Returns Home: ‘To Your Doorstep’ exhibition opens in Ibadan

By : Bertram Nwannekanma

Date: 4 December 2025 11:04am WAT

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A significant cultural moment is set to unfold in Ibadan this December as contemporary Nigerian artist David Olatoye returns to the city of his artistic formation with “To Your Doorstep,” a homecoming exhibition curated by art curator and cultural strategist Francis Ugbomeh (Papi), the Studio Supervisor to renowned artist Victor Ehikhamenor and Programmes coordinator at Angels and Muse, designed as a thought laboratory, a bridge for African artists, writers, and curators to the world.

The exhibition will take place at the historic New Culture Studio, the iconic creative pavilion designed and built by legendary artist-architect Demas Nwoko.

The venue, a cornerstone of Nigerian modernism, has long nurtured some of the country’s most influential artistic voices.

Its selection is both symbolic and deliberate, deepening the spirit of return that underpins the exhibition.

Bringing together works created between 2021 and 2025, the exhibition features paintings rarely seen publicly, many of which were produced in Ibadan.

Though the artist has gained increasing visibility in Lagos and on international platforms, the emotional and creative grounding of his work remains firmly rooted in Ibadan.

The exhibition, therefore, functions not as a debut, but as a reunion, an intimate return to the place that shaped his sensibilities.

Olatoye’s practice is characterised by a reimagining of domestic life: carefully composed interiors, tender gestures, and quiet moments that pay homage to the matriarchs and familial influences of his upbringing.

His use of pen and acrylic on canvas has become a defining element of his visual language, precise linework balanced with bright colour and controlled gradients that give his works their recognisable clarity.

A number of the works on display feature Christmas trees, an intentional detail that reflects both the timing of the exhibition and the emotional atmosphere of December, a season of return, warmth, and shared memory.

The choice aligns with the exhibition’s curatorial focus on homecoming, intimacy, and communal belonging.

According to the curator Francis Ugbomeh, the exhibition’s title, “To Your Doorstep,” embodies its broader motivation: “This project is about bringing art closer to the people, to the community, and to the city that has always been part of the artist’s story. It is a gesture of return, respect, and accessibility.”

This exhibition also engages fashion as an extension of visual art.

Olatoye’s signature pattern, derived from the study of tribal marks, has been translated into bespoke garments through a collaboration with AYINKÉ by Egbeyemi Aminat Oladayo, a fashion house rooted in the aesthetics and resilience of African mothers.

This partnership, Ugbomeh explains, “makes the artist’s visual language wearable, inviting audiences to live with the art as part of their everyday identity.”

In the spirit of accessibility, the exhibition includes a collaboration with Gallery Fresco, a Lagos-based institution specialising in printmaking, which will produce high-quality prints of selected works.

This ensures that visitors can take a piece of the exhibition home, reinforcing the inclusive ethos behind the title.

The presentation adopts a salon-like format, favouring intimacy over spectacle. Rather than being displayed as distant objects, the works are placed in warm, conversational arrangements that echo the domestic themes they explore.

This approach draws viewers into the emotional core of Olatoye’s practice such as tenderness, womanhood, memory, and the quiet architecture of home.

For Ugbomeh, whose curatorial work bridges visual culture and community-rooted storytelling, the exhibition represents a powerful alignment between artist, place, and purpose.

As the Programme Coordinator at Angels & Muse, one of Nigeria’s leading Art foundations, he brings to the project a curatorial voice committed to clarity, depth, and the amplification of African narratives.

When asked whether “To Your Doorstep” will continue as a series, Ugbomeh suggests that this homecoming is only the beginning: “What we are doing here is establishing a path. If art is to live in our communities, then we must continue bringing it closer. One city, one homecoming at a time.” “To Your Doorstep” opens this December at New Culture Studio, Ibadan.

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