Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya [aka Akirash]
Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya, Igbeyawo [Marriage Ceremony}, 2015
Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya, known as Akirash, is an interdisciplinary artist. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, he majored in biochemistry until he heard his calling for art. He began to study fine art and applied art at the Institute of Textile Technology, Arts, and Design Oregun – Lagos State, Nigeria. He moved to the Republic of Benin after graduating in 1996 and, since settling down in Accra, Ghana, in 2001, he has traveled to many countries to feed his hunger for new ideas and techniques, taking part in seminars, biennials, workshops, and both solo and group exhibitions.
In 2000, he founded an art non-profit organization called ARTWITHAKIRASH and the intervention has contributed to the development of communities and allowed many women and children to get off the street. He allows the community to take control of his public art, believing the public will take care of the final result. His projects tend to incorporate performances to educate the community and share experiences.
His project has had a chain effect – children have returned to school, women have taken up creative jobs to take control of their lives, and communities share the knowledge gained and live better lives.
Since 2011, Akirash has resided in Austin, Texas.
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION : 1992-1995 Institute of Textile; Technology, Arts & Design (ITTAD), Lagos,
Nigeria. Higher Diploma in Fine Art & Applied Art.
AWARDS/GRANTS/SCHOLARSHIPS/RESIDENCY
2012 Vytlacil campus, the student’s league for RUTH KATZMAN FELLOWSHIP RESIDENCY. NEW YORK - USA
“ TRIANGLE ART ASSOCIATION RESDIENCY , NEW YORK - USA
“ NAFASI/ ART SPACE INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY FELLOWSHIP, DCCD. DANISH EMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM TANZANIA.
“ INFECTING THE CITY FESTIVAL , CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA
“ THUPELO /BAG FACTORY INTERN. RESIDENCY, JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA
2011 NIROX PROJECTS/12 DECADE ART HOTEL, JOHANNESBURG-SOUTH AFRICA
“ POLLOCK-KRASNER FOUNDATION GRANT- USA
“ Art Farm Artists in Residency, Nebraska - USA
“ Commonwealth Connection International Artists Awards United Kingdom
“ VERMONT STUDIO CENTER, FELLOWSHIP ARTISTS IN RESIDENCY, Vermont – USA
“ GLADSTONE GALLERY/STUDIO, TORONTO – CANADA
“ CHF INTERNATIONAL GRANT GHANA.
2010 PHOTO TOURISM WORKSHOP,SPAIN EMB. ACCRA-GHANA.
“ CCA LAGOS,TRIANGLE ,BRITISH MUSEUM ARTIST IN RESIDENCY, lagos-Nigeria
“ Thami Mnyele foundation, Artists in residency, Amsterdam - Netherlands
“ Go ingenious Award, Santa Monica CA, USA
2009 SANSA 3,TRIANGLE/BRITISH MUSEUM. Artists in Residency, Kumasi, Ghana
2008 Artcroft, Artists in Residency, Kentucky – Chicago, USA
“ Bluesky Art Project, Artists in Residency, McHenry County, Chicago, USA
2006 “GHANA MEET ETHIOPIAN” Accra - Ghana.
1995 BEST SCULPTURE from ITTAD Lagos – Nigeria.
AKIRASH INITIATIVE PROJECTS
2012 CHAP CHAP SCREPA, NAFASI ART SPACE, DAR ES SALAAM-TANZANIA
“ UMOJA IN MAIN STRET LIFE- JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA
2011 GEGE ARA: WONDERFUL BRUSHES, AUSTIN – TEXAS . USA
“ LOST & FOUND WORDS, VSC, Vermont – USA
2010 ART WITH AKIRASH bolgatanga- sirigu , Ghana.
“ ART WITH AKIRASH, IN PSYCHATRIC HOSPITAL ACCRA- GHANA.
2006 Art Therapist in the Psychiatric Hospital of Accra, Ghana
2005 Mentor of upcoming craftsmen and artists in Accra, Ghana
“ Mentor for Students of Art from the University of New York Accra, Ghana
“ Coordinator of the project “Arts and Aids”, Accra, Ghana; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Cotonuo, Benin; Lagos, Nigeria
“ Headmaster of the workshop “Art with Akirash”, Alexandria, Egypt
2004 Cooperator for the “Arts and Aids Slide Talkshow” in Peru and India
Solo Exhibitions
2015 ADDITU (PUZZLE) - The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC) - DALLAS - TX USA
2014 Et כ Et כ [ENTANGLE] - Ro2 Art - DALLAS - TEXAS USA
2013 SIDE EFFECTS, COLAB PROJECTS SPACE –AUSTIN- TEXAS-USA
2012 UFAHAMU : INSIGHT, NAFASI ART SPACE, DAR ES SALAAM – TANZANIA
“ ABAWON:STAIN FORECOURT STATION CAPE TOWN-S.AFRICA
“ isiCelo: PETITION, NIROX FOUNDATION @ART ON MAIN. JOHANNESBURG- S.AFRICA
2011 GEGE ARA: WONDERFUL BRUSHES, AUSTIN – TEXAS USA
“ AFOKU JIGI: BROKEN MIRROR, Art Farm Nebraska - USA
“ ITAN MI: MY STORY RED MILLS GALLERY (VSC) Vermont- USA
“ EYIN GEDE:FRAGILE, Gladstone studio/gallery Toronto-Canada.
2010 ASIKO : MOMENTS, Goethe Institute Accra - Ghana
“ Frying pan 2 fire, Alliance Francaise, Accra – Ghana
2008 Back to School, European Week, France & German Emb, Alliance Francaise, Accra, Ghana
“ Black/White?, Goethe-Institut, Accra, Ghana
2007 Lines into Shapes, Alliance Francaise, Accra, Ghana
“ Quest and Question, Goethe-Institut, Accra, Ghana
“ Glamour in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
2003 Arts and Aids, Ghana Museum and Monument, Accra, Ghana
“ Akirash First Step, Ghana Museum and Monument, Accra, Ghana
Group Exhibitions
2013 PEOPLE GALLERY/CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN- TEXAS, USA
2012 London International Creative Competition
2012 OPEN STUDIO AT VTLACIL CAMPUS OF THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE, NEW YORK-USA
“ OPEN STUDIO @ TRIANGLE WORKSHOP NEW YORK.USA
“ Infecting the city, cape town-south Africa
“ PEOPLE GALLERY/CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN- TEXAS, USA
“ THUPELO/BAG FACTORY, JOHANNESBURG- SOUTH AFRICA
2011 ONEMINUTE VIDEO AMSTERDAM/TOWN GALLERY. EGYPT
“ SOVEREIGN ART FOUNDATION (JOBURG ART FAIR SOUTH AFRICA)
“ FAMILY UNITY OF THE WORLD,the Yekaterinburg Art Fund, Ekaterinburg-Russia
“ Cca Lagos, Triangle Trust, British Museum. @ Stone house Otta –Lagos- Nigeria
“ PAUSE THE PULSE :( PORTRAIT OF ACCRA), ACC Galerie Weimar-Germany
“ Freedom to create prize, Singapore.
2008 Artcroft Residency, Kentucky, USA
“ Nigth of Art, Bluesky Residency, Starline Gallery Harvard – Chicago, USA
“ KIC NORD ART, Büdelsdorf, Germany
2007 Migration, Virtual Residency, Völklingen, Germany
PERFORMANCES
2013 OWO OWO EJE/BLOOD MONEY, COLAB PROJECTS SPACE, AUSTIN-TEXAS-USA
2012 AHAN/TOUGUE, INTERNATIONAL MULTIMEDIA FESTIVAL,YAGON-MYANMAR
“ EYIN LOHUN/EGGS ARE LIKE WORDS, VYTLACIL CAMPUS OF ART STUDENTS LEAGUE NY-USA
“ PETEPETE ROFOROFO: LIVING IN MOULD, MWENGE/UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM 2
“ ABAWON/STAIN ”2”: CAPETOWN STATION FORECOURT-SOUTH AFRICA
“ EJE LEPO: BLOOD DONATION, BAG FACTORY/THUPELO, JOBURG-SOUTH AFRICA
2011 AFOKU JIGI/ BROKEN MIRROR: ART FARM, MARQUETTE-NEBRASKA
“ BEHINDE THE MASK, LECTURE HALL, (VSC) Vermont- USA
“ AYE ONI YO/ LIFE OF SALT, SCARBOROUGH – TORONTO, CANADA
PRESENTATIONS / VISITING ARTIST
2012 THE COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND, NEW-YORK- USA
“ UNVIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM, DAR ES SALAAM-TANZANIA
“ THE COLLEGE OF ART BAGAMOYO, BAGAMOYO- TANZANIA
“ VAAL UNIVERSITY, JOHANESBURG–SOUTH AFRICA.
2011 YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO – CANADA
2010 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY GHANA, ACCRA- GHANA
Nigeria. Higher Diploma in Fine Art & Applied Art.
AWARDS/GRANTS/SCHOLARSHIPS/RESIDENCY
2012 Vytlacil campus, the student’s league for RUTH KATZMAN FELLOWSHIP RESIDENCY. NEW YORK - USA
“ TRIANGLE ART ASSOCIATION RESDIENCY , NEW YORK - USA
“ NAFASI/ ART SPACE INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY FELLOWSHIP, DCCD. DANISH EMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM TANZANIA.
“ INFECTING THE CITY FESTIVAL , CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA
“ THUPELO /BAG FACTORY INTERN. RESIDENCY, JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA
2011 NIROX PROJECTS/12 DECADE ART HOTEL, JOHANNESBURG-SOUTH AFRICA
“ POLLOCK-KRASNER FOUNDATION GRANT- USA
“ Art Farm Artists in Residency, Nebraska - USA
“ Commonwealth Connection International Artists Awards United Kingdom
“ VERMONT STUDIO CENTER, FELLOWSHIP ARTISTS IN RESIDENCY, Vermont – USA
“ GLADSTONE GALLERY/STUDIO, TORONTO – CANADA
“ CHF INTERNATIONAL GRANT GHANA.
2010 PHOTO TOURISM WORKSHOP,SPAIN EMB. ACCRA-GHANA.
“ CCA LAGOS,TRIANGLE ,BRITISH MUSEUM ARTIST IN RESIDENCY, lagos-Nigeria
“ Thami Mnyele foundation, Artists in residency, Amsterdam - Netherlands
“ Go ingenious Award, Santa Monica CA, USA
2009 SANSA 3,TRIANGLE/BRITISH MUSEUM. Artists in Residency, Kumasi, Ghana
2008 Artcroft, Artists in Residency, Kentucky – Chicago, USA
“ Bluesky Art Project, Artists in Residency, McHenry County, Chicago, USA
2006 “GHANA MEET ETHIOPIAN” Accra - Ghana.
1995 BEST SCULPTURE from ITTAD Lagos – Nigeria.
AKIRASH INITIATIVE PROJECTS
2012 CHAP CHAP SCREPA, NAFASI ART SPACE, DAR ES SALAAM-TANZANIA
“ UMOJA IN MAIN STRET LIFE- JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA
2011 GEGE ARA: WONDERFUL BRUSHES, AUSTIN – TEXAS . USA
“ LOST & FOUND WORDS, VSC, Vermont – USA
2010 ART WITH AKIRASH bolgatanga- sirigu , Ghana.
“ ART WITH AKIRASH, IN PSYCHATRIC HOSPITAL ACCRA- GHANA.
2006 Art Therapist in the Psychiatric Hospital of Accra, Ghana
2005 Mentor of upcoming craftsmen and artists in Accra, Ghana
“ Mentor for Students of Art from the University of New York Accra, Ghana
“ Coordinator of the project “Arts and Aids”, Accra, Ghana; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Cotonuo, Benin; Lagos, Nigeria
“ Headmaster of the workshop “Art with Akirash”, Alexandria, Egypt
2004 Cooperator for the “Arts and Aids Slide Talkshow” in Peru and India
Solo Exhibitions
2015 ADDITU (PUZZLE) - The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC) - DALLAS - TX USA
2014 Et כ Et כ [ENTANGLE] - Ro2 Art - DALLAS - TEXAS USA
2013 SIDE EFFECTS, COLAB PROJECTS SPACE –AUSTIN- TEXAS-USA
2012 UFAHAMU : INSIGHT, NAFASI ART SPACE, DAR ES SALAAM – TANZANIA
“ ABAWON:STAIN FORECOURT STATION CAPE TOWN-S.AFRICA
“ isiCelo: PETITION, NIROX FOUNDATION @ART ON MAIN. JOHANNESBURG- S.AFRICA
2011 GEGE ARA: WONDERFUL BRUSHES, AUSTIN – TEXAS USA
“ AFOKU JIGI: BROKEN MIRROR, Art Farm Nebraska - USA
“ ITAN MI: MY STORY RED MILLS GALLERY (VSC) Vermont- USA
“ EYIN GEDE:FRAGILE, Gladstone studio/gallery Toronto-Canada.
2010 ASIKO : MOMENTS, Goethe Institute Accra - Ghana
“ Frying pan 2 fire, Alliance Francaise, Accra – Ghana
2008 Back to School, European Week, France & German Emb, Alliance Francaise, Accra, Ghana
“ Black/White?, Goethe-Institut, Accra, Ghana
2007 Lines into Shapes, Alliance Francaise, Accra, Ghana
“ Quest and Question, Goethe-Institut, Accra, Ghana
“ Glamour in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
2003 Arts and Aids, Ghana Museum and Monument, Accra, Ghana
“ Akirash First Step, Ghana Museum and Monument, Accra, Ghana
Group Exhibitions
2013 PEOPLE GALLERY/CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN- TEXAS, USA
2012 London International Creative Competition
2012 OPEN STUDIO AT VTLACIL CAMPUS OF THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE, NEW YORK-USA
“ OPEN STUDIO @ TRIANGLE WORKSHOP NEW YORK.USA
“ Infecting the city, cape town-south Africa
“ PEOPLE GALLERY/CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN- TEXAS, USA
“ THUPELO/BAG FACTORY, JOHANNESBURG- SOUTH AFRICA
2011 ONEMINUTE VIDEO AMSTERDAM/TOWN GALLERY. EGYPT
“ SOVEREIGN ART FOUNDATION (JOBURG ART FAIR SOUTH AFRICA)
“ FAMILY UNITY OF THE WORLD,the Yekaterinburg Art Fund, Ekaterinburg-Russia
“ Cca Lagos, Triangle Trust, British Museum. @ Stone house Otta –Lagos- Nigeria
“ PAUSE THE PULSE :( PORTRAIT OF ACCRA), ACC Galerie Weimar-Germany
“ Freedom to create prize, Singapore.
2008 Artcroft Residency, Kentucky, USA
“ Nigth of Art, Bluesky Residency, Starline Gallery Harvard – Chicago, USA
“ KIC NORD ART, Büdelsdorf, Germany
2007 Migration, Virtual Residency, Völklingen, Germany
PERFORMANCES
2013 OWO OWO EJE/BLOOD MONEY, COLAB PROJECTS SPACE, AUSTIN-TEXAS-USA
2012 AHAN/TOUGUE, INTERNATIONAL MULTIMEDIA FESTIVAL,YAGON-MYANMAR
“ EYIN LOHUN/EGGS ARE LIKE WORDS, VYTLACIL CAMPUS OF ART STUDENTS LEAGUE NY-USA
“ PETEPETE ROFOROFO: LIVING IN MOULD, MWENGE/UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM 2
“ ABAWON/STAIN ”2”: CAPETOWN STATION FORECOURT-SOUTH AFRICA
“ EJE LEPO: BLOOD DONATION, BAG FACTORY/THUPELO, JOBURG-SOUTH AFRICA
2011 AFOKU JIGI/ BROKEN MIRROR: ART FARM, MARQUETTE-NEBRASKA
“ BEHINDE THE MASK, LECTURE HALL, (VSC) Vermont- USA
“ AYE ONI YO/ LIFE OF SALT, SCARBOROUGH – TORONTO, CANADA
PRESENTATIONS / VISITING ARTIST
2012 THE COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND, NEW-YORK- USA
“ UNVIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM, DAR ES SALAAM-TANZANIA
“ THE COLLEGE OF ART BAGAMOYO, BAGAMOYO- TANZANIA
“ VAAL UNIVERSITY, JOHANESBURG–SOUTH AFRICA.
2011 YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO – CANADA
2010 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY GHANA, ACCRA- GHANA
Selected Available Works
Contact gallery for complete availability and pricing
