VILLAGER
VILLAGER (b. Abdul Rasheed Adekunle Esuwapelumi Adaranijo in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Baltimore-based transdisciplinary artist whose work exists to scrutinize, deconstruct, and redefine the existential and paradoxical question of what it means to be a “Contemporary African.” Migrating from Lagos, Nigeria to the USA in 2013, VILLAGER’s work reveres how the past is alive in the present, mindfully and intimately honoring the ancestors and their contributions that continue to inform and shape contemporary expressions and experiences. VILLAGER’s paintings, sculptures, cyanotype prints, photographs, installations, audio-visual media, and performance art, exist through rituals of intimate ancestral reverence as a spiritual and energetic reconnection to the DIVINE within and around us. Their work echoes a re-examination of consciousness, existence, and divine potential grounded in Yorùbá knowledge systems, cultural and spiritual practices, philosophies, and traditions.
VILLAGER is formally trained as a water microbiologist and environmental researcher, receiving a B.S. in Environmental Chemistry at Towson University in 2020. Their life’s work manifested in the physical during their master’s studies at UMBC studying Marine Estuary Environmental Science as a portal to reimagine and reconnect with their humanity, and that seed has blossomed into a creative language that embraces the time as the fruits of ancestral cyclicality to seek a greater purpose of existence. VILLAGER has also been selected in group exhibitions, Sou(l): Mostra de Arte Afro-Diaspórica, Artspace Vigidal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, BLAQ SHEEP, Superchief Gallery LA, Los Angeles, CA, AFROFUTURISM: 100 years after the Harlem Renaissance, Papermill Playhouse, Millburn, NJ, Holiday on Holliday: Baltimore’s Mosaic of Holiday Hope & Harmony, Baltimore City Hall, Baltimore, MD, B24 Artscape Exhibition, Riggs Gallery & Leidy Gallery (MICA), Baltimore, MD, to name a few. VILLAGER has also been commissioned for performances at The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery, Creative Alliance, and Maryland Art Place. They are a 2024 recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Grants for Artists, and the Free Fall Baltimore Grant.
VILLAGER currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD with their partner and collaborator, Kehinde Applewhite, where they both manage THE VILLAGE! STUDIO – a community-oriented studio space rooted in holding space for community through open mics, community conversations and dialogues, movie nights and discussions, artist talks, workshops, book clubs, and culinary experiences. They maintain and cultivate a thriving studio practice at the Historic Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower.
Available for:
Art Commissions, Creative Direction, Murals
Workshops: Cyanotype, Ethnography, Live Painting, Murals, Exhibition Development
