1.    Ade Bakare, Fashion Designer and Couturier, London.

Email: ade_bakare@hotmail.com, info@adebakare.com

Interview with Jean Borgatti

The Ade Bakare Couture label was set up in 1991 in London, England through a loan from the Prince of Wales’s Youth Business Trust (PYBT). The Ade Bakare Couture label is a luxury brand of elegant and classic clothes with a modern twist. The label consists of day and evening wear with a bridal range using exquisite couture fabrics such as chiffon, duchess satin, zibeline, lace, and Ade’s favourite fabric, gazar. Some of his signature designs that have become successful over the years are his silk gazar sweep coats, puff-sleeved blouses, high neck jackets, beaded kaftans and the frilled African boubou. His collection now embraces his African heritage and his beautiful designs can be seen interpreted in the silk Adire he has now made famous. Ade Bakare Couture sells to private clients and shops in England. In Nigeria he has a boutique that sells both the couture and ready to wear lines. He has two fragrances to his name, Breeze, which is a blue floral fragrance, and his signature scent, Ade Bakare, a spicy floral perfume. In England his clients include celebrities and the English aristocracy. In Nigeria, Ade Bakare has dressed the cream of Nigerian society. He was also made the official designer to the former first lady of Nigeria, late Mrs. Stella Obasanjo. He has shown his collections in many countries, in cities such as Vienna, New York, Paris, Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, Abuja and Mozambique. His unique wedding dresses using fabrics such as organza, shantung, gazar and dupion, come in intricate designs with rich embellishments. He won numerous awards as a student at Salford University College where he studied fashion design. He also studied history at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has recently established the Ade Bakare Fashion Design Academy in Lagos. He set up the Young Designers’ Creative Competition (YDCC) in 2006, to identify and encourage fashion design talents. This is a yearly competition. Other plans include setting up Ade Bakare Couture Shops and Design Academies across Nigeria and other parts of Africa. He lectures on fashion across the world and gives fashion workshops. He has been mentioned in a few films where he has worked as a costume designer, such as, A Place in the Stars directed by Steve Gukas, Lekki Wives directed by Blessing Egbe and One Room. He is also one of the costume designers for the current series of DSTV’s Battleground, Ayinla and Cordelia.

2. Deola Sagoe (Deola Ade-Ojo) Fashion Designer, Lagos

Email: deoadeojo@gmail.com

Interview with Peju Layiwola

Deola Ade-Ojo is a Nigerian born fashion designer who is popularly known by her design name, Deola Sagoe. She began designing in 1988 when she joined her mother’s business with a view of expanding the label’s repertoire to encompass more contemporary designs for the ever-developing, cosmopolitan high-brow Lagos society. Using African hand-woven materials in which she brought to life a range of distinct cultures; and contemporizing almost-lost traditional African techniques, Deola quickly became an icon in her field. She is well known for her uncanny attention to detail, her expert handling of a diverse range of fabrics as well as her exemplary grasp of a wide range of female body types. Her ingenuity and innovativeness combined with strong business acumen and vision has seen her win various accolades, awards, and recognition over the years.

in 2004, she became the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, Rome’s celebrated fashion week, and also the first Nigerian to have a stand-alone show at the New York Fashion Week September 2014.  She has continued to lead the way in trailblazing Nigeria on the global fashion map. With a humble beginning from MNET Face of Africa 1998, she subsequently won the MNET Anglo Gold African Design Award (New York) in 2000 upon nomination by influential US Vogue Editor Andre Leon Tally. In 2001, Deola was rated number 37 on the African Almanac scale of 100 most influential Africans in the world.

In 2007, Deola was recognized at the 10th International Star Awards in Paris and merited the Platinum Quality Award for her superior clothing. In a similar vein, she was awarded the International Quality Award of Excellence and Business Prestige (in the diamond category) at the Quality Summit in New York, 2008. In 2010, the Deola Sagoe brand was recognized as a recipient of the Super Brand’s Certificate of Excellence in Fashion Design and Label category. In 2015 she featured in and produced costumes for the film on Nigeria’s independence directed by Kunle Afolayan: “October 1” and merited the Multichoice- Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award for Best Costume Designer. Among her many fabric innovations, the ‘’Komole Kandids “collection, Deola’s own authentic answer to every African’s yearning for an original interpretation and crafting of lace, stands out distinctly. Over 12 years of research and development are ingrained into the “Komole Kandids” range (the original collection was launched in 2012), the result of which is a profoundly refreshing take on Aso-Oke and the look of the modern bride. In April 2019, she won the Arise Fashion Week’s award for Designer of the Year. In May 2022, she was invited to showcase her latest fabric innovation on the prestigious Banqué at the world luxury craftsmanship exhibition-Révélation Grand Parlays, in Paris and to inspire talent across Africa. A trailblazer by every standard, she continues to lead the way in carving a space for Nigeria on the global fashion map.

3. Deola Kamson, Fashion Design Entrepreneur, Delabique, Lagos

Email: delabique@gmail.com

Interview with Evelyn Osagie

Deola Kamson, is a Fashion Design Entrepreneur and founder of Delabique, a women’s clothing company, in Lagos. Deola Kamson runs Delabique, which is an ‘ethnic inspired’ women’s clothing brand, proudly made in Nigeria from Hand-made Batik and Tie-Dye textile prints for the winning woman who wants to stand out in style. Her company takes pride in fusing African cultural heritage with modern fashion. Kamson’s garments set to empower women in several communities where these fabrics are designed using indigenous designing methods. This way the women are economically empowered to take decisions, and make financial contributions to the upkeep and wellbeing of their families

4.  Peju Layiwola, Artist, Professor of Art, University of Lagos/ MasterArtClasses

Email: pejulayiwola1967@gmail.com

Peju Layiwola is an artist and professor of art history at the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos. She has an active studio practice and has held several exhibitions locally and internationally.   Her last solo exhibition Indigo Reimagined focused on textiles and emphasized the need to return to reviving the ancient textile traditions in Nigeria, particularly in the southwestern part of the country. Layiwola gave a Keynote at the conference, Textile and Place, Manchester School of Art, MMU, in partnership with the British Textile Biennale in 2021 and opened the winter session of the African Multiple Cluster of Excellence, University of Bayreuth, with a lecture titled, Spread Out the Cloth: Exploring Yoruba Textile and Fashion and Modernity, 2020.    Layiwola is a fellow of the African Multiple Cluster at the University of Bayreuth, Artist-in-Residence, University of Bayreuth (2022).  She has received several awards and grants – recipient of the Lagos Studies Association Distinguished Scholar’s Award, 2021; Tyson Scholar, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas, USA, 2019; Terra Foundation for American Art Grant, 2018, and recently the British Council SSA Culture Exchange programme grant 2021/2022 for her project titled Telling Textile Tales after which this conference is named.  Layiwola is the current President of the Art Council of the African Studies Association, USA (ACASA).  She runs two teaching initiatives-MasterArtClasses and the Women and Youth Art Foundation, both in Lagos.  Under the auspices of the other, which she founded in 1991, she created the first DVD for teaching textiles and other crafts in Nigeria. Her works based on textiles are in three major permanent collections.; Oje Market at the Stanley Museum of Art, IOWA University.   Oremeji II, Microsoft office, Lagos and Sun Bebe, Nike Arts Gallery

5. Jean Borgatti, Professor of Art and Curator, USA.

Email: jborgatti@gmail.com

Jean Borgatti has been Consulting Curator of African Art at the Fitchburg Art Museum in Fitchburg Massachusetts since 2010, curating several major exhibitions based on the museum’s permanent collection. She has faculty status at Clark University where she taught between 1984 and 2004 in the Visual and Performing Arts Department and at Boston University where she is a research fellow at the African Studies Center. She was accorded a Fulbright fellowship in 2002-2003 that took her to the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.  She returned to Benin in 2014-2015 on a second Fulbright to teach and continue research among cultures she has studied since 1971. She has written on artists of African origin, both traditional and contemporary, African textiles, and historic visual culture from Southern Nigeria.  She is a past president of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA). Her current projects include, curating a show of 21^st century African photography based on recent acquisitions at the Fitchburg Art Museum and completing articles on Ade Bakare, a sequel to the essay published in the International Journal of Fashion Studies in 2015, and on black British artist Zak Ové. Borgatti first saw Ade Bakare’s designs at a retrospective exhibition on his work held at the TerraKulture gallery in Lagos in 2013 where she was struck by his incorporation of actual historic Yoruba textiles, as well as his adaptation of Yoruba textile designs into his European style garments.  She subsequently interviewed him in Lagos and presented a paper in London in 2013 on the ‘Africanizing’ of his couture designs, and subsequently published as “Why Africa? Why Now?” by the International Journal of Fashion Studies. Subsequent interviews, including this one, are providing information on how his journey is progressing – not just on new designs but the development of his fashion school program in Nigeria and costume and set designs for both television and film.

6. Benjamin Itimi, CEO of Tangroff and Hotch Limited, Nigeria.

 Email: tangroffandhotch@gmail.com

TOPIC: Growing a Fashion Business into International Marketing Platforms

Benjamin  Itimi, popularly known as Bencasuals, a fashion brand started while an undergraduate at the Delta State University. Over the years, he has worked as a pattern drafter, fashion illustrator, fashion show organizer, trainer of models and tailors, as well as creating fashion ensembles for other brands. He has grown a successful business with a team that works with a wide assortment of indigenous and foreign fabrics to churn out exquisite garment designs as prototypes and also for bulk production. He has a B.Sc. in Economics and so combines his training as an economist to develop business strategies with his fashion talent.   

7. Chiaka Nnodi, Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State

Email: chiakaadaure@gmail.com

​​TOPIC: Entrenching Akwete Weaving Tradition within the University: AE-FUNAI As Case Study

Chiaka Nnodi is a textile lecturer and also serves as a resource person, where she engages in skill acquisition programmes, teaching Tie-Dye and Batik production in the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Employability, Federal University Ndufu-Alike (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State.  Chiaka is also the Manager of AE-FUNAI Centre for Indigenous Textiles, where she has carried out innovative explorations into the weaving traditions of Igboland. Her focus on indigenous knowledge systems of cloth-weaving in the South-East such as Akwete, Akwa Ocha and Ori cloth of Nsukka in the University system, aims at preserving and documenting the rich cultural heritage with the ultimate aim of upgrading their production processes. She is presently the coordinator of a collaborative project between her university and Germany 3D Research Station. She has participated in many art forums and exhibitions locally and internationally. She is a member of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) and the Art Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA).

8. Christina Omolola Akere, Art/ Design & Technology Teacher, Swanlea School, London, UK

Email: Lola.akere@yahoo.co.uk

TOPIC:  Teaching Children the Design Process

Christina Omolola Akere is a Design and Technology and Art teacher at Swanlea School, London, UK. She graduated from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, with a B.A. in Graphics Design in 2014 and started working in a school as a teaching assistant while pursuing her career as a teacher. In 2018, she completed her PGCE in Design and Technology and since then, has been teaching Design and Technology consisting of textiles, product design, also known as resistant materials, food and CAD CAM.  She also teaches graphics to the older students in order to achieve a vocational qualification, as well as their GCSEs.

 9. Deborah Jonathan, Lecturer Textile and Fashion Design, Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State

Email: deborahjonathan2013@gmail.com

TOPIC: Tie and Dye as a Factor of Cultural Identification: A Case Study of the Kanuri Cultural Attire from Borno State

Deborah Jonathan is a lecturer of Textile and Fashion Design, Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. She began her lecturing career at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State. Her research focuses on creative-exploratory designs of female fashion accessories and the promotion of Nigerian indigenous costumes and crafts. She studied textiles at the University of Maiduguri, B.A. Creative Arts and M.A.  Industrial Design at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. She is committed to entrepreneurial and humanitarian work, where she applies her skills at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies, Federal University of Lafia. Deborah has participated in several art and science exhibitions, competitions among which are the 9^th Annual National Art Competition (NAC); African Artists Foundation (AAF) Lagos, 2016; “Spanish Festivals and Traditional Celebrations,” an art competition in 2018, organized by the Embassy of Spain in Abuja, and Life in my City Art Festival, 2021. She also carried out a solo exhibition in 2015 on Macramé Fashion Accessories. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Textiles at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, exploring: Aso-Oke and Fashionable Women’s Head Gear (AutoGele) as Compliment for Indigenous Fashion.

 10. Egbele Ben Johnson, Textile Designer, Lagos

Email Address:  minsonele@gmail.com

TOPIC: Traditional Symbols of Adire

Ben Johnson Egbele is an art historian, businessman and management consultant.  He has worked in several establishments and schools. He served as General Manager at the Nike Art Galleries and Workshops, 2003-2018, coordinating the first major “Train the Trainer Workshop”, at the Nike Art Gallery Workshop, Osogbo, in 2007, sponsored by the United States Information Service, the “Adara Women Textile Workshop” at the Elegushi Palace. He coordinated the first two editions of the “Go Women Go Textile Workshop”, at Abuja, sponsored by the British Council and the Nike Art Gallery, in 2016 and 2017. He is a talented textile designer and adept in the history of Adire making and practice.

 11.  Olajumoke Kukoyi, Chief Lecturer, School of Art and Industrial Design, Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State

Email: jumokekukoyi@yahoo.com

TOPIC: Exploring Advanced Textile Methods for Making Mixed Media

Olajumoke Kukoyi is the pioneer Head of Department (2012-2016) in the School of Art and Industrial Design, Auchi Polytechnic. She obtained her M.Tech. in Textile and Clothing Technology (LAUTECH) and PhD in Textile (FUTA). She majored in Textile and Mixed Media and has participated in many conferences, workshops, and solo and group exhibitions, with many awards to her credit. Olajumoke has published two major textbooks on textile titled “Ajomore – A Monograph of Motifs and Mixed Media in Textile and “Materials and Methods in Textile Practice,” and she has also co-authored many textbooks on Textile and Entrepreneurship. Once known as an exporter of textile fabrics, ready-made Adire and Batik, she has executed a large number of commissions for both local and international clientele. She is professionally affiliated to TEXSON, FEAAN, PACA and SNA.

12. Emidun Olugbenga, Lecturer, Department of Industrial Design, Federal University of Technology, Akure

Email: obemidun@futa.edu.ng

TOPIC:  Cottage Dyeing Industries among Women in South Western Nigeria

Emidun Olugbenga Benjamin is a Lecturer in the Department of Industrial Design, Federal University of Technology, Akure. His area of specialization is Textile Entrepreneurship. He has a B.Tech. (2006), M.Tech.(2012) and PhD. (2018), all in Textile Design. He has participated in both local and international conferences. He has been teaching textile courses for over ten years with an impressive record of having graduated more than 50 undergraduate and postgraduate students. Emidun serves as chairman and member of several committees in the University. Currently, he heads the Textile section in the Department of Industrial Design, Federal University of Technology, Akure and is the Associate Director at the Business and Incubation Centre for Entrepreneurship (CENT), Federal University of Technology. He is the pioneer and current secretary of the Textile Society of Nigeria (TEXSON).

 13.  Lilien Ezeugwu, Textile Artist, Lagos

Email: lilienezeugwu@gmail.com

TOPIC: Potato Potahto: Connecting the Dots between Yoruba and Igbo Traditional Motifs

Lilien Ezeugwu is a graduate of Music from Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She is a self-taught textile artist. Over the last few years,  Lilien has worked more in the art space, engaging in several art events and activities. She has worked as an art curator at some galleries and museums in Lagos Nigeria.  These include The Nike Art Gallery, Lekki; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Anthony; CRIMMD Museum, Ejigbo and the Slave History Museum, Badagry. Lilien discovered her artistic talent very early in life. She has established a program for children and teenagers who, like her, have artistic talents but have no support or encouragement to develop them. She is currently the creative director of the Art Hub Nigeria.

 14.  Anjolaoluwa Fatunmbi,  Painter, Ibadan.

Email : fatunmbianjolaoluwa@gmail.com

TOPIC:  Using Textile for Mixed Media Painting

Anjolaoluwa Grace Fatunmbi is a young artist with an interest in painting, using pieces of textile pieces for her collages. Her works comprise mainly figurative paintings done with coloured fabrics. She is inspired by several artists, including Peju Layiwola, Marcellina Akpojotor, Peju Alatise, Oluwole Omofemi and her father, who runs a prominent gallery in Ibadan known as Topfat Gallery. She is also inspired by her mother, who is a fashion designer specialising in making women’s clothes. Her home environment is fundamental to her development as an artist.

15. Janet Oge, Founder, Jeo Craft Enterprises and Centre for Art and Craft, Lagos

Email; jeocraftart@gmail.com

TOPIC:  My Journey into Adire Production

Janet Oge is a Resident Artist at Nike Art Gallery, Lagos. She specializes in Adire textiles production, beaded jewellery, royal ornaments, shoes and bag making. She was the training coordinator for the maiden edition of Adara Foundation in 2016.  She also trained 100 women in Ogidi village, Kogi State, in 2021. Since the founding of Jeo Craft Centre, over 1000 women have been trained through a community development program. Janet Oge is a woman who finds great joy in adding value to people’s lives.

16. Laura Jones, Head of the Applied Arts Department, Edna Manley College of  Visual and Performing Arts, Jamaica

Email: l_leejones@yahoo.com, studioldesignsja@gmail.com

TOPIC: Design Pioneers II: Ireko”Baba” Baker

Laura Jones is a graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Jamaica, as well as the University of the West Indies, Mona.  She has pursued studies in Textile & Fiber Arts (Diploma), History, Archaeology, Philosophy (BA) and Heritage Studies (MA). Her career has spanned the areas of design, product development and business development within the creative industries (CI). She spent twenty-plus years working extensively in the creative industries, providing design, business development support and mentoring in and with agencies such as JAMPRO, Jamaica Business Development Corporation, and International Trade Centre, as well as with private entities as a consultant. Laura has also focused on world heritage and intangible cultural heritage through work done at UNESCO Kingston Office.  In 2012, Laura joined the part-time staff at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts as an adjunct faculty in the School of Visual Arts. The following year she was offered a full-time post in the Textiles, Fibre Arts & Fashion Department and currently holds the position as Head of Department for the Applied Arts. Her ‘sojourn’ back to the Edna Manley College has encouraged Laura to revisit ‘artistic practice’ where she has participated in several exhibitions. Her most recent participation in a joint exhibition entitled Fiberactive Germination (November 2021, Kingston Jamaica) saw her interrogating issues of femininity and the mixed emotions women face as they go through various changes in their lifetime. The body of work presented for this exhibition was somewhat a cathartic exercise for Laura, having undergone a hysterectomy a few years prior and finding herself having to deal with physical and emotional changes as a result. Laura’s passion for the creative industries motivates her to synergise her expertise in order to create solutions that can drive sustainable development. Laura is also an entrepreneur who works on encouraging business development among creatives.

17. Olatunbosun Oluwaseun, Visual Artist, CEO of Xpressionale Afrodesign, Abeokuta.

   Email: dejiolatunbosunseun@gmail.com

 TOPIC: The Sustainability of Àdire in Abeokuta

Olatunbosun Ayodeji Oluwaseun is a Visual Artist who holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts Education and M.A. (Textiles) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.  He is the CEO of Xpressionale Afrodesign, a textile global brand based in Abeokuta, Ogun State with the mandate to spread interest in indigenous fashion. His brand focuses on the production, processing and promotion of indigenous African textile design and print, strengthening creativity and self-reliance with contemporary exploration and expression. He has staged three solo exhibitions and participated in several joint textile exhibitions, workshops, seminars and fairs. Xpressionale is also a founder of One Culture Africa, a non-governmental organization that focuses on child art development with its base in Itoku, Abeokuta. Olatunbosun is a member of Ogun state chapter of Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), and a Fellow of the Art in Medicine Initiative

18. Oluwaseyi Awoyomi, Multifaceted Artist, New York, USA

Email: Shayeeo@gmail.com

 TOPIC: Oko Baba Mi: An Adire Tale

Oluwaseyi Awoyomi (Shayee) is a multifaceted artist, born into a family of visual and performing artists. Her parents are the famous Nike Okundaye and Prince Twins Seven-Seven. She started at the tender age of three, dancing, singing, and doing textile and painting alongside her mother, Nike Okundaye. She has always found a way to infuse her artistic background and talent in every area of her life. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Entertainment Technology from the New York City College of Technology.  Her ambition is to preserve and promote, to the best of her ability and capacity, the various art media from the generation of the Osogbo School of Art to which her parents belong. She grew up in an artist village and can remember vividly following her mother to different textile markets in search of unique Adire cloths. Shayee derives energy from the patterns in the traditional Adire of the Yoruba people, carrying on their unspoken communication language patterns in all of her works. She has collaborated with various organizations on the art of Adire, the resilience of the women, and their unspoken dialogue. Shayee has worked with reputable organizations such as the Harlem Needle Arts on multiple projects, workshops, commissioned artwork, installations, and shows. In addition, she has collaborated with organizations such as the Bring Back Our Girls, Black Philanthropy Network, NYS Assembly woman Rodneyse Bichotte, Riverside Church, National Black Theater, Nike Art Gallery, and Brooklyn Art Council, NY Citicorp Artist. She is professionally affiliated to Nike Art Center for Art and Culture, Brooklyn Art Council, Harlem Needle Arts, Artority Inc, Huntington Art Council and Art League of Long Island.

19. Omolara Ojowa, Founder and Creative Director at Milaseto Dye Arts by Ebun

Email: milaseto.dyeart@gmail.com

TOPIC: A Modern Take on Traditional Adire

Omolara Ojowa, Founder and Creative Director at Milaseto Dye Arts by Ebun is a Chartered Accountant with an IESE/LBS MBA and HND in Accountancy.  She established her Adire and Batik company, which she had always had a passion for, after working in a multinational for several years. Milaseto Dye Arts specializes in contemporary clothing for men and women.  She also reduces fabric waste by making hair accessories, bags and other accessories from Adire pieces. Her mother, a former fabric merchant, exposed her from very early in life to the use of exquisite fabrics such as luxurious silks, laces, cotton, silk organza, crepes, and silk satin for her designs. Ojowa is further inspired by the women she got trained along with.  She decided to empower them by providing a ready market and a decent wage through Milaseto.

20. Otonye Ayodele, Senior Lecturer, Department of Creative Arts,  University of Lagos

Email: bayodele@unilag.edu.ng

TOPIC: Gendered Practice in Cloth Weaving: Six Contemporary Women Weavers in the Sustainability of Aso-Oke in Oke-Ogun

Otonye Bille Ayodeleis a veteran Sculptor and has a M.A. and PhD in Art History. Her scholarship focuses on contemporary African art (particularly Nigerian arts), in its present state of practice and within the narration of African historical and artistic heritage. In the course of her research expedition, she has delved into the trajectories of textile art practices and textile artists in Nigeria. Since 1987, when she volunteered for Better Life for Rural Women Project, she has organised several textile workshops and exhibitions as community service projects, where many non-artists have been introduced to and trained in textile arts. As an artist, she is experimental with medium; however, her sculptures are mainly in terracotta, resins and paper. She is well exhibited and published nationally and internationally. For over two decades, she has mentored several artists and scholars through her art practice, and pedagogy and has been given recognition and awards. She is a member of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA), Sculptors Association of Nigeria (ScAN), Female Artists Association of Nigeria (FEAAN) and UNESCO International Dance Council (CID).

21. Oyenike Eseagwu, Lecturer, Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos

Email: oyenike@yahoo.com

TOPIC: Sustainability and Creative Textile Product Development in Nigeria

Oyenike Eseagwu has a B.A. and M.A. in Industrial Design, majoring in textile design and minoring in painting and graphics from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. She proceeded to the University of Education Winneba, Ghana, for a PhD in Art and Culture with a research focus on African fabric design culture. She is a practicing visual artist who focuses on the utilitarian aspect of art with an emphasis on fabric production and development. She has trained several artists, particularly in textile design, since 1995 at various institutions. She has participated in several group exhibitions. She is a cultural art enthusiast and a promoter of women’s development in textile production. Eseagwu explores indigenous motifs in various African arts and cultures, and creates and promotes new possibilities in textile artworks, fashion and design. She is a member of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), Nigerian Association of Female Artists and Sister Art Global.

22. Pamela Isemikon Cyril-Egware, Professor of Textile and Fashion Design, University of Port Harcourt.

Email: pamela.cyril-egware@uniport.edu.ng

TOPIC: Amakiri Ikara (Excavated Periwinkle) on Cloth as Documentation of the Cultural Heritage of the Nembe People of  Niger Delta in Nigeria

Pamela studied Industrial Design at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1989, and subsequently obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) in Textiles and Fashion Design from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2006. She has a PhD from the University of Port Harcourt, also in Textiles and Fashion Design. She is a Professor of Textiles and Fashion Design and the immediate past Head of the Department of Fine Arts and Design, University of Port Harcourt. She has published textiles and fashion articles in many scholarly journals and written books and monographs in textiles and fashion design. Pamela has participated in several groups and solo exhibitions, showcasing her textiles and fashion products for clothing and interior decoration and attended conferences and workshops nationally and internationally. She is a member of Textile Society of America, Society of Nigerian Artists, Harmattan Workshop (Rivers and Bayelsa Chapters), Female Artists Association of Nigeria and Creek Amazons. Pamela is the Director of PAMEK Studio and Gallery, where she practices and trains youths in Textiles and Fashion Design, cake baking, interior decoration and event management.

23. Areo Margaret, Professor of Textile Art and Art History, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho.

Email:  speakwithgbemisola@yahoo.com

TOPIC: Appraisal of the Dynamics of Yoruba Aso -Ofi

Margaret Olugbemisola Areo, is a Professor of Textile Art and Art History. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A. Hons) in Fine Art (Textile Designing) from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife. She practiced for fifteen years (after her first degree) as an entrepreneur in Textile / Fashion Designing and trained many young school leavers who are now successful entrepreneurs. She later bagged a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Obafemi Awolowo University also specialising in Textile Designing. Her MFA research was on Creative Usage of Leather for Textile Embellishment. She holds a Ph.D degree in Art History from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, where she currently lectures. Her Ph.D thesis was on Fifty Years of Adire in South Western Nigeria. She joined the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) first, as a part-time lecturer with the intention of returning fully to her Fashion and Textile business after her MFA. She however joined LAUTECH fully in 2002. She has numerous publications on Textile and other areas of Art. Areo has served in many administrative capacities such as Head of Department, Deputy Dean of her faculty and currently as member of the LAUTECH Governing Council. She has held many solo exhibitions and has participated in group exhibitions both within and outside Nigeria. She has been a member of the Textile Society of America (TSA) since 2005 and was an awardee of the first ever TSA Student /New Professional Award in Canada in 2006. She was also an awardee of the TSA Scholarship for the Textile Close Up to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the International Folk Art Market in 2015. She is a member of many professional bodies, such as the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), Museum Society, National Association of Visual Arts Educators (NAVAE), Textile Society of Nigeria (TEXSON), Ceramic Association of Nigeria(CERAN), American Association of  University Women (AAUW), Costume Colloquium, Italy,  Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA), Member and  Professional Women’s Advisory Board

24. David Makinde, Professor of Textile and African Art History, Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State

Email: domakinde@oauife.edu.ng.com

TOPIC: Indigenous Patterned Dyed Fabrics as Documentation amongst the Yoruba of South-West Nigeria

David Olajide Makindehad a B.A. (Art Education) in Textile Design in 1990 and a Master of Fine Art degree (MFA) in Textile Design in 2006, from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University.  He obtained a Master of Arts degree (M.A. Fine Art) specialising in African Art History and in 2014, obtained a PhD degree in Art and Criticism from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His research focus is: The Use of Textiles as a Tool for the Preservation of Yoruba Indigenous Culture. He has published extensively in many reputable journals at home and abroad. He has also attended and participated in many local and international conferences and workshops. He held a solo exhibition in 2017 titled “KOKORO” which was proverb-induced motifs on printed fabrics. Makinde has served in many administrative and academic capacities at the University, including head of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts and Vice-Dean, Faculty of Environmental Design and Management. His professional affiliations are, Textile Association of Nigeria (FTAN), Textile Society of Nigeria (TEXSON), Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA).

25. Sade Thompson, Head of Department of Fashion Design, Yaba College of Technology.

Email: sade.thompson049@gmail.com

TOPIC: Trends in Indigenous Nigerian Women’s Wears

Folashade AnneThompson popularly known as Sade Thompson in the art circles of Lagos, has for the past 22 years taught design, fashion illustration and fashion accessories at the Yaba College of Technology, where she is currently the Head of the Department of Fashion Design. She is an alumna of the Yaba College of Technology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the University of Port Harcourt, where she obtained degrees in Textile Design and Fashion Design. Her passion for learning and imparting knowledge cuts across both formal and informal sectors of learning. This is evident in her participation as a facilitator at various workshops in interior design, leather craft and jewellery design, in various parts of the country. The current trajectory of her work is on the “new directions in textile and dress and their effect on indigenous Nigerian garments.”  She has been part of curriculum review for fashion design programs for the national board for technical education as well as the creation of curricula for private fashion institutions. She is a member of Society of Nigerian Artists, Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria, Danfo Project Group and SisterArt Global Network.

26. Umana Nnochiri, Lecturer, Department of Visual Arts, University of Cross River State.

Email: umanannochiri@gmail.com

TOPIC: Creative Synthesis and Re-Creating the New from the Old

Umana Nnochirispecialised in Textiles at the University of Uyo. She teaches entrepreneurship courses and heads the textiles unit at the University of Cross River State.  Umana is a British Council-trained project manager, studio artist and costume designer. As a carnival expert, she has designed costumes for more than a decade.  She is chief costumier for the leading band of the Carnival Calabar, the Passion 4 band, and consultant on carnival costumes and cultural matters for Cross River State. She also designs for the Calabar Carnival Commission, Abuja, Rivers State, Imo State and the Lagos State Carnival.   Umana has trained many young persons, especially girls and women in crafts, textile and fashion production skills, costumes and props. As part of community development, she trains vulnerable street children in Calabar on various skills to enable them to make a livelihood and contribute meaningfully to their society. She is the team leader of the skills unit of the Coalition of Youth Serving NGOs in Cross River State. Her contributions to the development of the creative and tourism industries have been recognized and catalogued in the publication “Akwa Ibom Women: Contribution to Hospitality and Tourism”  in Nigeria’s Centenary: 100 years of Akwa Ibom Women’s Imprint in National Development. Umana’s interests include a re-invention, re-creation and appropriation of ancient cultures and exploring indigenous resources for fashion, costumes and colour pigments. The Nkugho, Mbopo, monoliths, Ekpe masquerade and Nsibiri cultures offer her inspirations to create textile designs for use in carnival costumes, fashion and other contemporary purposes, as a means of synthesizing ancient cultures and modern emerging ones. She is a Fellow of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) and Chairman, SNA, Cross River State Chapter, member of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA), Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) UK, Female Artists Association of Nigeria (FEAAN), Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), Calabar Creative Cities Hub, Chairman of the Visual Arts and Craft Team (CCCH) and Creative Director of Gallery 08 et al Ltd.

 27. Uzoma Anyanwu, Experimental Artist, Lagos.

Email: uzocreativeartz@gmail.com

TOPIC: Fabrics: Beyond Covering the Body

Uzoma Samuel Anyanwu is a multidisciplinary experimental artist whose works cut across mixed media, collage paintings, photography and installation sculptures. Uzoma started art by weaving different shapes of baskets in his village and making large-scale drawings on the ground.  His early childhood prepared him for a vibrant artistic journey. Uzo took to recycling fabric wastes to contribute to the sustenance of our ecosystem.  He studied painting at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. He currently runs an active studio in Lagos and has a broad range of clients attracted to his realistic portraits painted with fabrics

28. Omoligho Omoye Udenta, Department of Graphics,  Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

Email: omoligho.udenta@yabatech.edu.ng

TOPIC: The African Fabric as a means of Communication

Omoligho Udenta possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Design from Ahmadu Bello University and a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of Lagos. She is a Lecturer in the Graphics Department at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos and has participated in various workshops and group exhibitions. She has also had two solo exhibitions in 2016 and 2018, titled “Dust and Petals” and “Opus in Progressu”, respectively. In her work, she uses flowers and floral motifs as a metaphor for humanity, our peculiar similarities and yet, immense diversity. She explores various materials in her creative explorations and process. She is especially inspired by the textures, colours and motifs of African fabrics, which add an additional layer of meaning to her work.

She had previously served as Post-Production Manager, Videolab Limited and Head, Graphics/Animation Department, Media International, where she developed and produced 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional TV graphic designs/ animations and edited TV programs and other content materials.  She is a member and former Vice Chairperson, Society for Nigerian Artists (SNA), Lagos Chapter. She is also a member, former Assistant Secretary, and former Vice-Chairperson of Arterial Network (Nigeria).

29. Ibrahim Adebayo Lawal, Chairman National Union of Textile Garment Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (Kampala), Lagos

Email: agbaraasa@gmail.com

TOPIC: Textile Art as Storytelling: Perspectives on Aguda/Itire-Ikate Textile Designers

Ibrahim Adebayo Lawal obtained a diploma in Cultural Administration and Resource management from National Institute for Cultural Orientation (2022).  He trained as an apprentice embroiderer for six years shortly after completing his primary school education. He later worked in the fashion industry with notable designers like Princess Abbah Folawiyo, Labanella, Mrs Alakija, Rose of Sharon, Franca Fashion and Jimi King, where he gained an understanding of indigenous textile designs, quilting and applique arts. He worked with Jimi King for 15 years before launching his own clothing line. He served as the sector secretary of the National Union of Textile Garment Tailoring Workers of Nigeria Kampala, for eight years before becoming the sector chairman four years ago till date. He is also the Artisans and Tradesmen Association Chairman in Itire Ikate LCDA. Lawal is a Cultural Ambassador to Olokun Festival Foundation. Ibrahim Lawal lives and works in Lagos.

30. Sophia Jovita Ejameh, Chief Technologist, School of Art and Industrial Design, Auchi Polytechnic, Edo  State

 Email: soklassik.es@gmail.com

TOPIC: Exploring and Imparting Skills in Crochèt, Machine Knitting, Beading and Leather Works

Sophia Jovita Ejameh is the present Head of Unit (Applied Art) and the Project Coordinator in the Department of General Art and Industrial Design, School of Art and Industrial Design, Auchi Polytechnic. She obtained her MFA in Textiles from the University of Benin specialising in Machine Knitting and Crocheting.  She has participated in many conferences, workshops, and exhibitions with awards to show for her dedication. Sophia has published reports on sustainability and self-reliance through crocheting and bead-weaving. She has executed a good number of commissions on machine-knitted wears, crocheted wears and bead works for both local and international clients. Sophia is also a professional member of the Association of Professional Creative Artists and Designers (APCAD), the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) and is the present SNA Publicity Secretary (2022-2025).

31. Obatola Layiwola, Video Producer and Artist, Dakota State University, South Dakota, USA

E-mail: obatolayiwola@yahoo.com

TOPIC: Video as a Medium for Brand Storytelling

Obatola Layiwola, also known as Oba, is an award-winning artist and designer exploring multiple facets of creative expression using design, innovation, and collaboration. During his undergraduate studies, he participated in exhibitions and won several awards for his work at the university. He also served as a student ambassador, and international club co-president before graduating as a valedictorian in 2019, with a BS degree in Digital Arts and Design (photography minor). In 2020, he won the ADDY Student Best of Show, Gold, and Silver awards in South Dakota. He currently works as a video editor for an education technology company in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is also currently using his eponymous brand, Oba, as a creative platform for exploring fashion, music, and design to provide value to his community.

32. Abolore Sobayo, CEO, Jelosimi Art Centre, Oshodi, Lagos

Email: abolore.sobayo@gmail.com

TOPIC:  Exploring Innovations in the Designs of Adire Textiles

Abolore Sobayo is a visual artist with over a decade experience in the culture and creative industry in Nigeria.  His current interest is the use of art as a tool to inspire positive change in marginalized communities through his tutorial classes, artists’ residencies, textile practices, and intercultural performances, through multiple group shows and solo exhibitions.  Abolore is also known for creating outfits with an Afrocentric feel. He has carved a niche market for his well-coutured clothing made from indigenous fabrics such as Adire, Batik and other selected African prints. Sobayo established the Jelosimi Art Centre and the Sobayo Abolore Art Foundation to engage minors and youths in creative spaces. So far, over a thousand Nigerian children and students have benefitted from his philanthropic programs.

33. Samuel Asaju, Fashion Designer and CEO, Davidblackmoore, Lagos

Email: sammyasaju@gmail.com

TOPIC: Embedding African Heritage in Fashion and Textile

Samuel Asaju is a fashion designer born in Lagos, Nigeria.  He started his fashion brand Davidblackmoore with his co-founder Asiafa Fego in 2015, while in Afe Babalola University. Davidblackmoore is a brand that represents African fashion in unique collections that are embedded in African heritage and fashion excellence. Asaju studied International Relations and Diplomacy at Afe Babalola University and has a double Masters in Business and History from Ajayi Crowther University. He took part in textile designing classes at MasterArtClasses, Lagos in 2021 and ever since, he has translated his designs into a range of products comprising denim pieces, t-shirts and Adire clothing.   He is affiliated with fashion design brands like Off-white, Streetsouk and Garmspot.

34. Dandara Maia, University of Bayreuth, Germany

Email:  dandara.maia@uni-bayreuth.de

Title: A Decolonial Approach to African Textiles in Curatorial and Collecting Practices

Dandara Maia is a Ph.D. student in the Bayreuth International School of African Studies at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. Her research interests lie in African art and textile art, racism, material culture, and the Black Diaspora. Her current research on wax prints explores the Euro-African textile as a performative act that asserts and negotiates identities due to the power of its visual materiality in Brazil and Nigeria. Dandara co-curated the exhibition “Not Yet” telling the story of the textile collection of the Iwalewahaus Museum of African Arts in 2021. She is also a member of the Collective for Constant Questioning, an online platform of conversations with art curators.

35. Angela Osuporu, Lecturer,  Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos, Akoka,  Nigeria

Email: minedesigner15@gmail.com

TOPIC: Print Fabric Designs and Production History in Nigeria Textile Industry

Angela Osuporu is a Textile and Fashion Designer.  She has a B.A. in Textile Design and a MFA in Textiles [ from the University of Benin, Nigeria; M.A. in African Art History from the University of Ibadan and a M. Phil. in African Art History from the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife.  Her scholarship focuses on the history and development of Nigerian indigenous and modern printing textile industries. This extends to her production of print designs using indigenous motifs, signs, and symbols that explore themes such as culture, feminism, identity, and communication, for use as applications on leather, and other materials for decorative purposes. Her practices also include fashion (making of apparel and upcycling various fibres). She has participated in some group exhibitions and workshops.  She is a member of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), Art Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA), Lagos Studies Association (LSA), and Nigeria Association of Vocational-Technical Educators (NAVTED).

36. Abi Eso-Adeleke, Academic, Researcher and Retail Entrepreneur, Abi Eso Accessories, USA.

Email: abiesoaccessories@gmail.com

TOPIC: Empowering Women through African Fashion Accessories

Abi Eso-Adeleke is a graduate of the Universities of Ilorin and Ibadan (both in Nigeria) and Indiana University Northwest, and Walden University (both in the United States). She holds a Doctor of Business Administration in Marketing. Over the years, Abi Adeleke has worked in various capacities in the United States in the legal profession, public administration, and currently a compliance professional with a major retailer in the United States of America. Abi is an academic researcher, peer reviewer, and thought leader in small business marketing strategies.  With an extensive engagement in communities, diversity, and inclusion initiatives, Abi is passionate about community outreach projects involving women and youth. She is also the owner of Abi Eso Accessories, a one-stop-online shop for authentic African fashion accessories. In her spare time, Abi is passionate about health and wellness. She recently started a YouTube channel under her name, featuring life and marketing matters.

37. Alao Luqman Omotayo, Cultural Diplomat, Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts, Jamaica

Email: alao_artist@yahoo.com

TOPIC: Developing a Cottage Adire Industry in Jamaica through Nigeria’s Intervention

Alao Luqman Omotayo, is an artist, a volunteer and cultural diplomat in Jamaica, appointed in 2017 to teach the art of tie-dye/batik, metal-work, leather-work and jewelry-making within communities, schools and artist/artisan populations. He has a B.A in painting from the University of Lagos and a MFA in printmaking from the University of Benin. He was awarded “Student with Leadership Qualities”  at the University of Lagos Endowment Scholarship Awards/Partners Forum 2008 and a two-time “Best Faculty of Arts Researcher”,  University of Lagos Annual Research Conference and Fair ( 2016 and 2017). He has done numerous commissions, solo and group exhibitions.  He worked with the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), Ministry of Tourism Jamaica in 2017/2018, Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, 2019, and currently with Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Industry Jamaica. He is the pioneer of the program Festival of the Cloth, an idea to create tie-dye/batik cottage industries in Jamaica and to mark the 60^th independence of Jamaica.

38. Joe Ren, Madison, Multimedia Artist, Designer, and Associate Professor, Dakota State University, South Dakota, USA.

Email: joe.ren@dsu.edu

 TOPIC: Visual Language – The Inspiration by Oracle Bone Script

Joe Ren is a multimedia artist, designer, and educator. He is an Associate Professor in Digital Arts and Design at Dakota State University. He is also a co-founder / chief designer at Expose Art and a rotating-term vice-chair of the executive committee at the Association of Chinese Artists in American Academia (ACAAA). For the past few years, he has exhibited his works nationally and internationally in America, Sweden, Finland, South Korea, and China. His research and articles have been published in China, England, and America such as, Fusion + Evolution – Teaching and Learning of Design, New Media Art, International Academic Forum on Individualized Education of Art and Design in International Field of Vision and Chinese Literature Today.

39. Zainab Bello, Department of Industrial Design,  Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State

Email: bellozainab55@yahoo.com

TOPIC: Adire as Entrepreneurship among the Yoruba People of South-West Nigeria

Zainab Bello has been teaching textiles (Industrial Design) at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, since 2018. Her research focuses on various indigenous textile designs which are translated into contemporary clothing. She also teaches industrial weaving, surface design on fabrics, and fabric embellishment.  She has a B.A. and M.A. in Industrial Design (Textiles), 2012 and 2018, respectively.  Zainab had attended conferences and published in both international and national journals. She has also worked as a textile freelance artist, teaching youth and local dyers in her community. 

40.  Hope Afoke Orivri, Journalist, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, OnepageAfrica, Lagos.

Email: hopeorivri@gmail.com

Hope Afoke Orivri is a PhD candidate of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos. She is specialising in Communication for Development.  Her research focus has been on impact of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene on public health, particularly among under-five children. Hope is a practicing journalist with over 17 years’ experience of active work. She is passionate about the arts and has reported the arts for years; served as Art Editor for over four years while working in a national newspaper in Lagos. She reported extensively on the works of Mama Nike Okundaye, following her contributions to the development of art, particularly in women empowerment at the Nike Art Centre. She has also followed the works of the Women and Youth Art Centre, where women and young girls are taught art entrepreneurship. She is a member of the Lagos Studies Association, where Professor Layiwola is her mentor. She was a contributing researcher in ‘Rethinking the Artistic Trajectory of African Women Artists’, with Professor Layiwola as the lead researcher.  In the course of the research, she had series of interviews with Princess Elizabeth Olowu, Nigeria’s first female bronze caster, whose works in time were a key part of the study. Hope is the founder and editor-in-chief of OnepageAfrica.

41. Imal Silva, Artist, Art Promoter, Entrepreneur and Business Consultant.

Email: imalsilvat4l@gmail.com

 Imal Silva is an artist, art promoter, entrepreneur and business consultant. Imal considers himself a conceptual artist. His works are largely focussed on promoting global (sustainable) goals for development. He serves on the board of enterprises in different sectors where he plans, directs and executes the marketing and business development strategy,  such as, Treasures4life Art Gallery, Taprobane Medical Centers (www.taprobanemed.com) and Silade Agro Clubs and L&Z SILADE Agro Park  (www.siladeagro.com). He is an alumni of Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation’s Harmattan Workshops. He has on multiple occasions been a judge at art competitions such as Life In My City organised by Alliance Francaise, Nigeria.  Imal is a member of the faculty of TALK Residency (www.talkresidency.org), an immersive and collaborative art residency where he teaches marketing and business development to artists. He also serves on the advisory board of Art for a Reason, an Art Media Company. He is also the regional director of Agribusiness (West Africa) at the U.S-Africa Trade Council (www.usafricatrade.org). Imal is a graduate of Biochemistry from the University of Ibadan. He earned a scholarship to study Entrepreneurship at the Enterprise Development Centre, at Lagos Business School (LBS), for his work on marketing and business development in the art and culture sector.  He is also a graduate of the Agribusiness Management Executive Programme of LBS, and now a visiting lecturer at the same institution.

42.  Awoh S.I. Mofunanya, Fashion Designer and Educator, Lagos.

Email: Ifyawoh@yahoo.com

 Awoh S.I. Mofunanya obtained both the Certificate, National Diploma and the Higher National Diploma in Fashion Design from the Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education from the Lagos State University, LASU. She obtained the Master of Art (M.A) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in Fine Art from the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State.  Dr Mofunanya started her teaching career in an Indian Language School in Ilupeju, Lagos before joining the service of her alma mater, the Yaba College of Technology, where she was the head of Fashion section. She was the pioneer coordinator of the institution’s water company, pioneer coordinator of the Skills Acquisition Centre till 2019. Dr. Mofunanya is a former vice president of the Nigerian Association of Female Artists, former acting chairperson, Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), Lagos state chapter, former vice coordinator, Women in Technical Education, (WITED), Dr. Stella has authored eleven books, six solo exhibition catalogues, many journal articles and conference papers. She was a resource person with the National Board for Technical Education NBTE for over fifteen years. She is the first female Rector of the Redeemers College of Technology and Management located at the Redeemed Christian Church of God Redemption Camp, Mowe, Ogun state.

43. Azeezat Sofunde, Broadcaster, Voiceover Talent, Art & Craft Enthusiast, Entrepreneur. Lagos.

Email: azeezatoss@gmail.com

Azeezat Sofunde is a Broadcaster, Voiceover Talent, Art & Craft Enthusiast, and an innovative Entrepreneur. She is the creator of The Crafters Connect – a platform that promotes arts, crafts and creativity in general. She is the convener of The Crafters Conference, and host, The Crafters Chat with Zazee.  Azeezat lends her voice to subjects that add value to individual/collective growth, and to humanity at large. She is a resourceful, “ideas-bank” hence fondly called Zazee – a support – system – sister.

44. Aje Olutayo Abiodun, Artist, Art Educator. Lagos.

e-mail: tayo@alarabara.art

Tayo Aje is a graduate of B. A. Fine Art (Painting) from the University of Benin and M. A. Visual Art (Education) from University of Lagos. His participations include: facilitated Workshop in ARAC (Another Roadmap Africa Cluster) stand at Dokumenta 15, Kassel, Germany (July 2022), SNA Aina Onabolu Exhibition (2019), Ofala Festival (2017), OYASAF Creative Workshop, University of Lagos (2010), promoter of Nigerian Art Series Goethe Institute (2004), Mobil for Art series, Shapes to Come, Didi Museum (1990, 1997), National Institute of International Affairs (1990) and National Museum, Jos (1989). He is a member of Another Roadmap Africa Cluster, Arts Council of the African Studies (ACASA), Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) and International Society for Education

45. Evelyn Osagie, Journalist, The Nation Newspaper.

Email: speaktoevelyn@gmail.com

 Evelyn Osagie is award-winning journalist currently at The Nation Newspaper. She is an artist and poet performer. In the last one year, she has been trying her hands in the world of fashion and design, experimenting with fabrics combo for Adire making.