Afrikanizm | Tope Alawaye – Emerging Nigerian Artist Celebrating Black

What Black Love Looks Like (Series IV)

€4.740,00

"Tope Alawaye’s artistic journey is rooted in the celebration of Blackness - its elegance, complexity, and enduring spirit. His practice is an act of cultural preservation, drawing from the visual archives of the past to awaken emotion in the present.

He works with figurative forms and mixed media, often incorporating vintage imagery to stir warm memories and evoke the tender nostalgia of earlier decades. His art pays homage to the 1960s and 1970s, not just as aesthetic references, but as emotional time capsules - eras of resilience, joy, and unapologetic self-expression within the Black community.

Often described as having an “old soul,” Tope embraces that identity. For him, it means seeking meaning over material, connection over noise, and empathy above all. This sensibility infuses his work, transforming each piece into more than image - into memory made visible.

Through his art, Alawaye invites us to slow down, to feel deeply, and to honour the beauty of Black life, not only as history, but as a living, breathing now."

MEET

Tope Alawaye

Tope Alawaye (b. 2002, Nigeria) is a rising Nigerian visual artist whose poignant, memory-rich artworks belie his young age. At just 22, Alawaye channels the presence of an old soul, crafting deeply personal yet culturally resonant paintings that pay homage to Black identity, beauty, and legacy.

Working across figurative and mixed-media forms, Alawaye draws visual inspiration from the aesthetics of the 1960s and 1970s — bell-bottoms, vinyl records, analogue tones — evoking the warm familiarity of family photo albums and golden-era gatherings. Through these nostalgic symbols, he creates a tender dialogue between personal history and collective memory.

Alawaye’s paintings celebrate the richness of Black heritage, while gently interrogating themes of intimacy, belonging, and emotional resilience. His work invites viewers not only to observe, but to remember — to connect with their own lineage through a shared visual language of joy, reverence, and reflection.

Despite his youth, Tope Alawaye is rapidly establishing himself as a powerful new voice in contemporary African art, using the past as both palette and compass for a visually poetic future.

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