Oluwafemi Afolabi

Oluwafemi Afolabi is a Nigerian contemporary painter whose works explore resilience, motherhood, survival, and identity through the symbolic use of bats and Ankara fabric. Born in Northern Nigeria and originally from Ogbomoso, Oyo State, his artistic journey is deeply rooted in personal history, memory, and cultural experience.

His introduction to art began informally after secondary school while training in graphic design and sign writing at Mide Print in Oyo Town. Driven by a lifelong passion for visual storytelling, he later studied Painting and Graphic Arts at Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo, graduating in 2017, and further obtained a degree in Fine and Applied Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University.

Oluwafemi’s paintings are recognized for their expressive figurative style and recurring bat imagery — a symbol drawn from his childhood experiences in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State. During a difficult period in his family’s life, bats became both a source of survival and a lasting metaphor for endurance. Inspired by a Yoruba proverb often repeated by his mother — “If a bat has only one hand left, it will still hold onto the tree” — the bat in his work represents resilience, adaptability, and hope in the face of hardship.
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Visual Artist graduated from Emmanuel Alayande College of Education Oyo State.
Obtained a Degree in Fine and Applied Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University.

I have been privileged to participate in a handful of art
shows which includes but not limited to;


* The Coalition “Africa’s largest art exhibition”, Ibadan Nigeria. (2026)
* Affordableartfair, Battersea Park London UK (2026)
*AÌMÀSÌKÒ “Ignorance of divine timing” Group Art Exhibition, National Museum, Ibadan Nigeria. (2025)
*West African Visual Art Exhibition, London UK (2025)
* Hampstead Big Fair, London UK (2024)
* Hampstead Summer Festival, London UK (2024).
* Thing of beauty, London UK (2024).
* Art Fair, Ibadan Nigeria (2024).
* Life In My City Art Festival, Enugun NIgeria (2023).
* Inside Out; See beyond Seeing, Ondo State, Nigeria (2023).
* Art Fair “Chronicle” Ondo State Nigeria (2022).
* Forgotten Identity, Artsy-New York city (2022).
* Fashion, An Instant Language, Artsy-New York city (2022).
* Life in My City Festival (LIMCAF) Enugun Nigeria (2022).
* Arnheim Collection Art Exhibition, Ibadan, Nigeria (2022).
* Life in My City Festival (LIMCAF) Ibadan, Nigeria (2021).
* LASGIDI art exhibition, Lagos, Nigeria (2021).