In honor of International Women's Day, we're thrilled to shine a spotlight on some of the incredible female artists featured in our online art gallery. We explore the diverse and impactful ways these talented women infuse their unique perspectives into their artistic creations. Join us on a journey through their stories, art, and the powerful messages they convey.
Chiamka Esinulo: Chiamaka is a contemporary Nigerian artist whose striking pieces earned her a finalist spot at the Life In My City Art Festival (LIMCAP) in 2023, before that her work was featured in magazines like Polemicalizine and Mbari. She describes her artistic style as conceptual realism. “My style is idea-based with my subjects portrayed in realistic form rather than surrealistic or abstract. I make use of harmonious colours to create mood in my work. The lines and numbers used are symbolic and they represent time and its relationship to humans,” Chiamaka explains while she ponders on her artistic approach.
Growing up in a mostly female household, Esinulo mentions that "I learned a lot about sisterly bonds, how desires and priorities change over time, and how regrets are inevitable but that we can always make a positive difference with time".This rich knowledge she gained in her childhood helps her create art that is striking and moving.
Through her work, she explores how time has a strong impact on all of our lives as humans, both individually and in our relationships. Additionally, she compliments this profound exploration with the use of harmonious colours to create a vivid mood in her art.
Esther Obiwuru: Esther is a Lagos-based visual artist who stumbled into the world of art after she was forced to change from Mass Communication to Art & Industrial science. This change initially disappointed her but she persevered against the odds and found a love for art. Obiwuru credits her lecturers at the Universal Studio of Art, Lagos who taught her during her Industrial training placement for her degree program at Lagos State Polytechnic.
While she doesn’t have a distinct style, Esther draws inspiration from her environment, childhood memories, and the Nigerian way of life. Through landscape paintings, she documents her neighborhood and surroundings. For Obiwuru art is an expression of herself and by extension, African womanhood. Her striking portraits center on the average African woman as she seeks to remind them of their beauty, dignity, and self-worth. “The African woman is unique and spontaneous,” mentioned Esther as she reflected on her greatest muse.
Esther’s artistry is deliberately emotionally evocative as her goal is to resonate strongly with others on a personal level. With her work, she hopes to help others embrace their true selves and create a sense of belonging for people who feel othered.
Ewurama Amankwah: Ewurama is a Ghanaian visual artist whose focus is surrealist art. She grew up as an art lover and that influenced her to study Painting & Textiles at Ghanatta College of Art. Inspired by the human condition, Amankwah often ponders about how individuals think, feel, and act in various situations. Her musings on life are what dictate her sociological approach to art, as her work is a vehicle for understanding the social dynamics and affairs of everyday people.
Her fascination with mindsets has led her to explore how our thoughts manipulate and misguide us and this propelled her on a journey to promote good mental health through art therapy. "My expression of painting shapes me to be focused and able to control my thoughts," Ewurama explains. While many of her pieces center on dark human emotions and feelings such as loneliness and despair, others present a certain hope to the audience.
Ogochukwu Ejiofor: Ogochukwu is a profound visual artist from Anambara, Nigeria whose work largely explores the feminine perspective. She describes her personal style as a ‘figurative abstract’ as her art maintains strong links to the human figure with abstract elements. As a member of both the Association of Female Artists and the Sister Art Visual Global Community, she’s a champion of women especially in art.
“My artistic inspiration comes from my own stories and stories from other people's lives. These stories usually centre women, women who are going through a lot, going through experiences that they are not willing to share, or they don't know how to share or the rather not share. These are events that are true and are somehow related to almost every woman,” Ejiofor explains about her biggest inspiration to create art.
She successfully taps into her own experience via art to show other women they’re not alone. Ogockuwu sees her work as a means to foster community amongst women. With her provocative body of work, she has achieved numerous milestones but still manages to give back by offering art workshops to secondary school students and teachers via her art studio, Art Bullet.
The contributions of African women to the art world are undeniably significant, and we celebrate their impact not only on International Women’s Day but every day. In celebrating these talented creators, we embrace the richness of their narratives, perspectives, and artistic expressions that contribute to the diverse and vibrant tapestry of the art world. Explore the expansive and dynamic body of work crafted by these extraordinary female artists featured on our site.