Yinka Shonibare CBE
Yinka Shonibare was born in London, UK in 1962 and grew up in the UK and Lagos, Nigeria. He studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art, London in the 1980s and graduated from Goldsmiths College in 1991.
Over the past decade, he has become well known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalization. Working in painting, sculpture, photography, film and installation, Shonibare’s work examines race, class and the construction of cultural identity through sharp political commentary of the tangled interrelationship between Africa and Europe and their respective economic and political histories.
N'Goné Fall
Born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1967, N’Goné Fall studied architecture under Paul Virilio (1932–2018) at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris, graduating when she was 26. She did not however pursue a career in architecture as in 1992 she met the art critic Jean-Loup Pivin (born 1951) who persuaded her to join his African-oriented Revue Noire. She became its editorial director from 1994 to 2001, covering African artists on the international scene. In 2001, together with Pivin she published Anthologie de l’art africain du XX siècle, subsequently translated into English as An anthology of African art: the twentieth century.
She recently served as Director of the Africa Season 2020 organised by France.
Michèle Sandoz
Michèle Sandoz was born in Zimbabwe where she spent her childhood and partly in Niger. She studied East Asian Art History and Chinese Language and Culture at the University of Zurich and at the Beijing Language and Cultural University in China. During that time, she spent many years in China and Taiwan. Currently she sits on various advisory boards which reflect her cultural involvement worldwide, eg. Member of the Advisory Board of the Executive Master in Art Market Studies (EMAMS) at the University of Zurich, Board Member of the Lagos Biennial (Nigeria), and of the art fair Paris Internationale. Furthermore, she is the Founding Member of the Global Council of the Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (ZEITZ MOCAA) in Cape Town (South Africa).
Oliver Enwonwu
Oliver Enwonwu, the Director of Omenka Gallery, is the youngest son of the pioneering modernist artist, Ben Enwonwu. He is an artist, curator, art administrator, writer and illustrator. Enwonwu has exhibited extensively and curated many shows all over the world. He is the president, Society of Nigerian Artists. He is the founder, executive director, and a trustee of The Ben Enwonwu Foundation and sits on the board of several organizations including the National Gallery of Art, Nigeria, and the Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria. Enwonwu is also the founder and editor, Omenka magazine.
Aduke Gomez
Aduke utilises her legal and advisory skills to assist in business and creative development. Commencing her career in legal practice with the law firm of Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, she later worked for many years in various leadership roles within Ecobank Nigeria Ltd and Leadway Pensure PFA. Aduke was appointed to the Governor Fashola Administration of Lagos State in the role of Senior Special Assistant/Secretary to the Lagos State Hotel Licensing Authority in 2011. She was also appointed to serve as a member of the Lagos State History Committee and as a member of the Lagos Carnival Committee, where she headed the Junior Carnival Sub-Committee responsible for the participation of 2000 school children.
Eva Maria Ocherbauer
Eva Maria Ocherbauer is an Austrian born photographer, curator and lecturer living in Berlin. She studied Scenery at the “Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst” in Graz, Austria and performed as a dancer and actress before joining the “Werkstatt für Photography VHS Kreuzberg” in Berlin, Germany to get trained as a photographer. Her photographs had been featured internationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions, such as “Kreuzberg – Amerika“ CIO Berlin, 2016 / “Geniale Dilletanten” Haus der Kunst, München, 2015, “Röcke Tragen” Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, 2012 / “Milk Drop Coronet” Camera Austria Graz, 2010 / and many more.
