CV

TUNDE ODUNLADE

Graphic & Textile/Fibre Artist, Musician, Dramatist

3 Aragba Close, IITA Area, Sagbe, Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria

234-812-523-9077
+1-732-213-8315 – USA
anac_swz@yahoo.com
TundeOdunladeBlog.com

Biography

Tunde Odunlade is an internationally known Nigerian artist, curator, actor, and musician. He practices fibre and textile arts, graphic arts, and floatography. His work is in the collections of many museums, public buildings, and private homes around the world. His associations include:

Nigeria

  • State House Marina, Lagos
  • MarketingMix, Headquarters Office, Lagos

United Kingdom

  • Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Middle East

  • Jordan National Gallery of Fine Art, Amman, Jordan

United States

  • Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.
  • Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida
  • Museum of International Folk Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
  • Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, Detroit, Michigan
  • Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Northern Illinois University Museum, DeKalb, Illinois
  • The World Bank, Headquarters Building, Washington, D.C.
  • Community Folk Art Museum, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
  • Marlboro College Museum of Art, Marlboro, Vermont
  • The Museum of Geometric and MADI Art, Dallas, Texas
  • African American Museum of Iowa, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  • Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, New York
  • Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, New Mexico
  • Fine and Performing Arts Center at Bowie State University

Odunlade’s work is represented by a number of galleries and individuals. His writing has been published in books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and professional catalogues internationally. He has been the subject of two masters’ degree projects: by Ifeanyi Onwukpa from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria; and Kolade Ayeyemi of the University of Ibadan, Institute of African Studies, Ibadan, Nigeria. He was additionally featured in a Ph.D. dissertation by Sharon Pruitt, University of Michigan, Lansing, USA.

He received grant awards for the book cover of the publication “Higher Education in Africa” from a number of U.S. foundations including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, The Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and New York University. He has received several U.S. national, state, and county arts grants.

He is a member of the Visual Artists Network of the United States of America (VAN) and a frequent participant at the National Conference of Artists, New York.

Odunlade has been a visiting lecturer and artist-in-residence at several universities in the United States including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa; Michigan State University, Lansing, Michigan; and Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In the United Kingdom this list includes the University of Sussex, Lewes, Brighton; and the University of Exeter, Exeter.

In 2006, Odunlade curated a show in celebration of the 60th birthday of legendary musician King Sunny Ade (KSA@60), a multimedia exhibition that vividly showcased Ade’s life. It was held at the Eko L’e Meridian Hotel in Lagos. It was also the genesis of the later book, “My Life, My Music” by King Sunny Ade.

In May 2001 Odunlade was commissioned by the Debt Management Office of Nigeria to curate an art exhibition to address the severity of the nation’s external debt and its calamitous repercussions on Nigeria’s economy. The show was titled “Together We Rebuild a Nation.” It took place at the Nicon Hilton in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. This project was part of a concerted campaign in Nigeria that led to the cancellation of a significant amount of burdensome national debt. The exhibition was declared a success by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, then Nigeria’s president.

Tunde Odunlade Artists’ Cooperative Gallery co-facilitated a colloquium titled “Distinguished Personality Colloquium on KSA and African Music” at the conference Center organised by Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in February 2013.

Odunlade founded and was the longtime artistic director of Toki Memorial Art Centre (TMAC) a community art training school/workshop located in Orogun, near the University of Ibadan, for fourteen years. Some former art centre students are today well-established artists, living in different parts of the world. TMAC also played host to artists from the U.S., Canada, and Europe on various art-exchange programs.

Recent Exhibitions

  • 2014 February. City Lights Gallery, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Group show.
  • 2014 January. Master Artist Workshops in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and the Bowie State University Department of Fine and Performing Arts. Bowie, Maryland
  • 2013 November. Commissioned Exhibition. “65th Anniversary of the University of Ibadan Convocation.” Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
  • 2013 October–November. Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, Ohio. Sculptured Relief Batik, Batik, Wood & Linocut Prints and Floatograph. Group show.
  • 2012 – 2013 December–Jan. African American Art and Cultural Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • 2012 December. Lagos Art Expo. National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria.
  • 2012 November. Rotunda Art Gallery, Office of the Governor of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM
  • 2012 February–March. City of Perth Amboy Art and Cultural Center. Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The Mayor presented City Proclamation Certificate.
  • 2012 Feb–April. City Lights Gallery, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
  • 2012 June. Labor Heritage Foundation Annual Convention Washington DC. Exhibition, Workshop and Musical performances.
  • 2011 October. Nigerian Independence Day exhibition and lecture titled “Art as a Tool for Nation Building.” Nigerian High Commission, Ottawa, Canada
  • 2011 October Catholic Immigration Center. Ottawa, Canada
  • 2011 July–August. National Conference of Artists New York Summer Show 2011. Corrine Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, New York, NY
  • 2010 Feb–April. Hammonds House Museum Atlanta, GA. “Dreaming Between Worlds.” One man exhibition, Batik on paper Workshop and conversation with Ambassador Andrew Young. Produced with grants from the Visual Artists Network (VAN/NPN) USA
  • 2008 September 21st – November 1st 3 & the Environment Corrine Jennings Gallery at the Kenkeleba, NY, NY. With Frederick Hayes and Michael Itkoff.

Curriculum vitae, additional information, and references are available upon request.
Visit http://TundeOdunladeBlog.com for current information on the artist’s activities.
For the music portfolio, visit: http://soundcloud.com/icbaca.

U.S. Contact:

K. James Cody
+1-301-452-4469
kjamescody@yahoo.com

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