Odera Igbokwe

Odera Igbokwe (they/them) is a painter, illustrator, and movement artist located on the unceded and traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Odera was born of Igbo parents who immigrated to the lands of the Lenape people. As a result they are constantly excavating, responding, and envisioning in spite of the fractures that occur via diaspora. Their artwork is an exploration of storytelling through Afro-diasporic spiritualism, Black resilience, embodied transformations, and redefining the archetypal hero’s journey. More specifically, they are intrigued by Nigerian spiritualism, folklore, and sacred practices, and how that relates to contemporary communities across the Americas.

Their artwork weaves together ancient narratives with Afrofuturist visions to explore present day realities. It explores the magic of the Black Queer imagination, and questions how to build a home from an intersectional lens. Ultimately these works aim to create gateways and access points to healing from collective and generational traumas, and assert that healing can be a celebration of joy, mundanity, pain, pleasure, and fantasy coexisting. As an artist, Odera works with clients and galleries to create work that is deeply personal, soulful, and intersectional.

Odera holds a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design and studied West African Dance Movement and Theatre Arts at Brown University with New Works/World Traditions. Their work has featured in exhibitions, publishing, and gaming. Recent collaborations and exhibitions include working with Vancouver Art Gallery, Nia Centre for the Arts, Surrey Art Gallery, 221A, and CBC Arts.

EDUCATION

Rhode Island School of Design, BFA in Illustration (Class of 2012)

Brown University, focus in Theater Arts & Performance Studies with New Works/World Traditions.

CLIENTS INCLUDE
Scholastic, Twitter, Blizzard, CBC, Patreon, City of Vancouver,
City of Richmond, Holt Renfrew, Huffington Post

EXHIBITIONS & SHOWCASES
Vancouver Art Gallery, Museum of Anthropology at UBC, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,
Grunt Gallery, Burrard Arts Foundation, The James Black Gallery, SUM Gallery,
THIS Gallery, Surrey Art Gallery, ACT Art Gallery, and ArtGallery at Evergreen.

GIFTED WORKS & PERSONAL COLLECTIONS
Beyoncé, Solange Knowles, Oumou Sangaré, and Dawn Richard

WORK FEATURED IN
Buzzfeed, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, CBC Arts, Blavity, Afropunk, OkayAfrica,
MSNBC, Humans of New York, GREE News, @art, Adult Swim