Jelili Atiku, Nigeria

Jelili Atiku is a Nigerian multimedia artist with political concerns for human rights and justice. Through drawing, installation sculpture, photography, video and performance (live art); he strives to help viewers understand the world and expanding their understanding and experiences, so that they can activate and renew their lives and environments. For over decade, Jelili has put his art at service of the prevailing concerns of our times; especially those issues that threatening our collective existence and the sustenance of our universe. The contents of these concerns ranging from psychosocial and emotional effects of the traumatic events such violence, war, poverty, corruption, climate change, etc., that associated with our warring world have dominate his artistic forms. Born on Friday 27th September, 1968 in Ejigbo (Lagos), Nigeria, Jelili was trained at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and University of Lagos, Nigeria – Where he was awarded Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) and Master of Arts (Visual Arts) respectively. He presently teaches sculpture in Department of Art and Industrial Design, Lagos State Polytechnic, Lagos, Nigeria. He is the project leader of Art Africa Forum; the artistic Director of AFiRIperFOMA – a collective of performance artists in Africa; and Chief Coordinator of Advocate for Human Rights Through Art (AHRA). Jelili has travelled widely and participated in numerous performances/exhibitions/talks in Lagos (Nigeria), Vancouver BC and Victoria BC (Canada), Gunpo (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Paris (France), Berlin (Germany), Madrid (Spain); Malmo, Copenhagen (Denmark), Jarna (Sweden); London, Wales, Manchester, Scarborough, York (United Kingdom); Casablanca (Morocco), Accra (Ghana), Harare (Zimbabwe), Limbe and Yaoundé (Cameroun, Kampala (Uganda), etc.