By Carl Loof
A Man on a Mission.
In the midst of large, provocative art installations and vibrant contemporary exhibitions, an unassuming Aki Abiola emerges from the crowds of art lovers who have descended upon the Miami Beach Convention Center for Art Basel, one of the world’s foremost and most important art fairs, organised each year since 2002 in Miami Beach, Florida.
In his black jeans, white t-shirt, and jacket, Aki somehow manages to blend in with the scene and stand out as one of the few people of colour attending the pre-opening. More than just an average spectator, however, the father of two, former banker, and England youth rugby player is today a man on a mission – to launch Hope 93, a bold new organisation for the collaboration and artistic inclusion of Black and African artists within modern art circles.
Born and raised in London to Nigerian parents, Aki attributes his vision of empowering underrepresented and underappreciated artists to his family‘s legacy of helping others. The name refers to the historical events of 1993 in Nigeria, when his father, MKO Abiola, won the Presidential election, but the military regime annulled it. “My father fought for what he believed in for the benefit of others, especially those worse off than him,” Aki says.
Now an established art collector and member of both the Tate African Acquisition Committee and Board member of Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, UK, Aki finds Art Basel an ideal platform to engage the international art market and meet with different groups. “What I am trying to build is very much around collaboration with different galleries and discovering different artists, so [Art Basel] is the perfect place. Using it as an opportunity to build relationships and connections, get to spread the message about what I am trying to do,” explains a cheery Aki as we begin our conversation.
The event also gives Aki the chance to reconnect with several artists he’s been collecting for years but had, up to this point, never met in person. With such organic relations to the art itself and while sitting on boards for two of the most significant institutions for modern British art, he is exceptionally positioned to achieve his goal of creating a space for burgeoning new artists.
Demystifying the art world to new groups
First noticing the lack of art that made him truly “see himself” in the work, to later helping others recognise these gaps in significant collections when relating to Black and African identities, Aki successfully transitioned from the professional world of finance to establishing himself as a true authority on modern and contemporary African and Black British art. Serving on advisory boards for two of the UK’s leading institutions, his position speaks to the pivotal role he now plays in advocating for greater representation of artists of colour and access to the art world for these communities. Throughout our conversation, Aki highlights the frustration and intimidation with systemic and societal barriers to entry that many of these artists face in getting discovered by more established groups.
His solution is clear – providing a hybrid virtual and physical opportunity for these artistic voices to be heard, their art to be seen, and their collective work to be discovered. In short, Hope 93 will connect and showcase some of the best and underappreciated artists from around the world with an added emphasis on all genders, the best Black and minority artists with audiences of influence that increasingly recognise and seek to address gaps in representation within their existing collections.
The point of Hope 93 is a logical bridge for these two worlds, or in financial terms – the opportunity to form a marketplace where supply of new and diverse art can meet the increasing demand for greater representation. Far from a financial equation, however, this is a personal passion of Aki’s, inspired not only by his heritage and values but also driven by his conviction that the talent is there and that now is the time for these artists’ work to be elevated and introduced to wider audiences. The challenge and opportunity for Aki is to steward the work of artists into spaces where they otherwise might not have occasion to access in the same context.
The talent is critical
Aki emphasises a strong focus on leveraging today’s talent to build something sustainable for the long term and moving beyond fads and stereotypes of African art and art by Black artists. “The talent is there,” stresses Aki, as we continue our discussion, noting the impressive diversity and complexity of much of the art coming from today’s artists, which seem as diverse as the media used to express their talent. Historically, art from minority and Black groups may have been passed over, typecast, or pigeonholed into artistic contexts that underserve the talent of the works themselves. Aki highlights a number of talented Nigerian artists to watch out for:
Layo Bright, a sculptor born in Lagos, Nigeria, explores social themes such as migration, legacy and identity through hybrid portraits, textiles, and mixed media.
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, a painter born and educated in the UK, now also based in the US, takes inspiration from the history of ancient West Africa, its mythology, and his Yoruba heritage.
Richard Ikhide, a painter born in Lagos and educated in the UK, draws on his Nigerian background and interest in civilisations and mythologies to bring together time, geographies, and cultures.
Joy Labinjo, a British-Nigerian painter, born in the UK, explores her shared heritage and works between historical references and lived experiences in her art.
Deborah Segun, a painter born in Lagos, adopts a deconstructed, reductive, and almost Cubist approach to depicting female figures, incorporating fragmented and exaggerated shapes, faces, and forms.
Monica Ikegwu, Baltimore-born figure painter of Nigerian heritage, primarily focuses her work on African-American youth and fashion trends as a celebration of Black aesthetic and self-identity.
Ekene Stanley, a civil engineer turned self-taught painter, born in Nigeria, draws upon history and fantasy to create with distinctive use of colour, technique, and his iconography of figures.
Odili D. Odita, a painter born in Enugu, Nigeria working in Philadelphia, leverages combinations of patterns, design, and contemporary conceptual positions to compose unique takes on non-objective art.
Nengi Omuku, horticulturalist and florist turned painter inspired by both impressionism and her mother’s floral drawings to explore nature, heritage and interior psychological experiences.
When speaking, one feels the optimism and determination of Aki’s venture, Hope 93, now in the stages of fundraising for the launch and finding a physical location in London in early 2024. He notes the power of community building and coming together as a strategic approach to drive a collective narrative inspired when the work reflects the community. “When you’re talking about the development of the African market, or Black artists, or ethnic minority artists, and that could be any ethnic minority, it’s important to have a base within the people who look like the artists as well as international collectors.”
Advocating for the discovery of accessible art
In forming grassroots advocacy from within the artistic communities themselves and empowering new audiences of collectors, Hope 93 can bring together like-minded individuals and entities to form partnerships that collectively can help give voice to diverse art. An additional function is as an art advisory connecting aspiring collectors and curators of more established collections to discover talent and the works by up-and-coming artists.
In the same way that the project will enable new artists to access the market, it will similarly empower less established members of the art community to source art from outside traditional channels that, while affordable now, may someday be inaccessible to the same collectors. “I understand that ‘affordability’ is relative when it comes to fine art, but collecting younger artists or those that are underappreciated can be a crucial starting point in developing the careers of artists, and allowing collectors a chance to start their journey.” Aki continues: “I’d like to open that up a lot, both in terms of access to some of the best pieces, but also the scale of art that you can buy at an affordable price.”
On the pulse
As we conclude our interview, Aki is about to embark on a day filled with a dizzying array of networking at cutting-edge events for which Art Basel Miami Beach has become synonymous. Aside from the art fair itself, the convention has spawned an ecosystem of sub-meetings, pop-up galleries, concept spaces, music concerts, late-night after parties and all types of cool and unique cultural experiences that epitomise the hipness Miami (“the Magic City”) unironically flaunts. With attendees spanning the gamut of geographies, industries, and ages all united by the thirst for “the next cool thing in art”, it is clear why Aki’s aspirations for Hope 93 are an integral part of furthering African and Black art in places of influence. “I’m using art as a focal point. To increase understanding of art, especially from artists from diverse backgrounds. I want it to be a place of discovery.” Aki wants Hope 93 to be a platform that, similarly to Art Basel, unites people: everybody interested in art, those part of the art world, collectors, artists, galleries, and museums. Who knows, maybe next year we might even see an opportune representation from Hope 93.
