1. Communicate: Diversity
Ojo Agi is a Toronto based
Nigerian-Canadian artist. Her
artwork seeks to explore races
or identities that are often
ignored in contemporary art. In
2012, Ojo worked with Alex
Folzi on an exclusive t-shirt
collection. In 2015, Ojo Agi's
art was featured in a pop-up
gallery in Ottawa, Ontario. Her
unique style and clean
aesthetics leads to captivating
and visually enticing pieces of
art.
HA: Tell me about yourself.
Can you explain your
transition from a Tumblr
account to a personal
website?
OA : My name is Ojo Agi and
I'm a visual artist currently
based in Toronto. I've always loved making art and about six years ago I started posting my
artwork online. I received a lot of positive feedback, which encouraged me to continue making
art, but the downside of social media platforms is that you lose control of the context once you
post online. People were reposting my work and it was rarely credited back to me. Two years
ago I made my own site, which has helped to contain my work and act as an online portfolio.
Ojo Agi - photo courtesy : Daniel F. Effah

2. HA: What is the message that you try to convey through your pictures?
OA : Growing up, I rarely--if ever--
saw people like me represented
positively in the media I consumed.
So writing stories and drawing
pictures has been my way of making
up for it. At the core of it (message),
is representation, but simply
representing women like me in non-
stereotypical ways has also been an
act of resistance against white
supremacist, patriarchal standards.
HA : Where do you gather
inspiration for your art work? Are
there any artists who have
influenced your work?
OA: I take in inspiration from so many
sources--photographs, fabrics,
people on the street, other artists.
Some of my favourites are Dessie
Jackson, Stella Blu and Daniel
Segrove but I have many, many
more.
HA: When "marketing" your work to people what techniques have worked and what has
not ?
OA: I'm still trying to figure that out! But I can say that exposure for exposure's sake is not
beneficial. I have to learn to market myself to the right audiences and be selective with how I
choose to show (and, therefore, brand) my work. This means saying no to some opportunities
and working to create my own if I can't find what I'm looking for. For example, I hosted a pop-up
gallery in May 2015 which had a great turnout and helped showcase my art locally. It also set
Lupita N'yongo

3. the tone for how I want my work to be shared with the public
and gave people an idea of the standard I'm looking for.
HA: Have you faced any
criticism or
misconceptions
concerning your work?
How have you tried to alleviate such circumstances in
which you felt that you were misunderstood?
Once someone commented on my Instagram photo that I only
drew racially ambiguous people. It was absurd since I was in
the middle of posting my
"Daughters of Diaspora"
collection which was
based specifically on
reference photos of
African models (my
Nigerian friend
included). I thought a lot
of it was chalked up to
the commenter's
ignorance about what
looks "black" or "African"
enough. The
conversation went back and forth but ultimately I can say this: if there is something you feel is
missing in art or media, then create it! One person can't (and shouldn't) represent everyone. So
if there's a gap, look for ways you can fill it.
BY: HABIBA ABUDU, DOCS N' DOTS
Portraits displayed in "Daughters of Diaspora" Art Exhibition
One of the designs from Ojo
Agi's collaboration with fashion
brand Alex Folzi