Ekene Emeka Maduka

From Wikipedia.

Ekene Emeka Maduka was born in Nigeria in (1996), to her interior designer mother and architect father. She was raised in Kano, Nigeria. She completed her Bachelor of Arts from University of Manitoba. Emeka-Maduka has said that her experience living in Nigeria has a major influence on her work. Her work includes themes of displacement and reconstructing identity, and she is often the subject of her paintings. Another recurring element of her work is the eye contact her subjects hold with the viewer of her paintings. She is based in Winnipeg, Canada.

Quotes

• "I committed to art because it was one of the most prominent things in my surroundings as a child – my mother being an interior designer, my father an architect. Still, I remember my mother’s fabrics and my father’s drawings in my mind years later."
  • "Ekene Emeka Maduka Friezes Truth and History in Her Paintings". The Art Gorgeous. July 4, 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
• "Because “dreams” are supposedly uncanny and impossible. My piece Tortoise and the birds opens the conversation about experiencing cultural amnesia which colonized peoples often experience. It also highlights hindrances that result from loss of cultural queues and history. "
  • "Ekene Emeka Maduka Friezes Truth and History in Her Paintings". The Art Gorgeous. July 4, 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
• " I believe my identity is informed and evolves through learning and existing. "
  • "Ekene Emeka Maduka Friezes Truth and History in Her Paintings". The Art Gorgeous. July 4, 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
• "When it comes to people, I am inspired specifically by people who exist transparently and are passionate to see others and allow space for them to speak their truths without interruption.
  • "Ekene Emeka Maduka Friezes Truth and History in Her Paintings". The Art Gorgeous. July 4, 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
• “When the work is rich and has well thought out intentions, it will make its way to the places it will.”
  • "The young Black painter exploring the nuances of normality". Voice Online. 2020-10-31. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
• “I personally think that physical fairs are important for the role they play in helping collectors to discover new artists, which they can then buy online later on,”
  • Rea, Naomi (October 9, 2020). "Buoyed By Interest in Young African Artists, London's Only IRL Art Fair 1-54 Shows the Value of In-Person Events". ArtNet. Retrieved 20 March 2025. Polartics, a young Nigerian gallery and first-timer at the fair, found buyers for all eight paintings it brought by the Nigerian-Canadian painter Ekene Emeka-Maduka. The works, which range in price from £3,000 ($3,800) for smaller circular canvases to £12,000 ($15,500) for larger ones, are part of a series called "St. Agnes" depicting the artist's experience at an all-girls' Catholic boarding school in Nigeria.
• “I think interest will only continue to grow as the art world learns that Africa is a huge continent with a huge variety of cultures and stories and people.”
  • Rea, Naomi (October 9, 2020). "Buoyed By Interest in Young African Artists, London's Only IRL Art Fair 1-54 Shows the Value of In-Person Events". ArtNet. Retrieved 20 March 2025. Polartics, a young Nigerian gallery and first-timer at the fair, found buyers for all eight paintings it brought by the Nigerian-Canadian painter Ekene Emeka-Maduka. The works, which range in price from £3,000 ($3,800) for smaller circular canvases to £12,000 ($15,500) for larger ones, are part of a series called "St. Agnes" depicting the artist's experience at an all-girls' Catholic boarding school in Nigeria.