Art Swap - Odera Igbokwe - Untitled

4x6" unframed | 5.75x7.75" framed

This piece was donated to the gallery during a fundraising (and community building) Art Swap held at the gallery in November of 2025.

Artist Bio

Odera Igbokwe (they/them) is a painter, illustrator, and movement artist located on the unceded and traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Odera was born of Igbo parents who immigrated to the lands of the Lenape people. As a result they are constantly excavating, responding, and envisioning in spite of the fractures that occur via diaspora. Their artwork is an exploration of storytelling through Afro-diasporic spiritualism, Black resilience, embodied transformations, and redefining the archetypal hero’s journey. More specifically, they are intrigued by Nigerian spiritualism, folklore, and sacred practices, and how that relates to contemporary communities across the Americas.

Their artwork weaves together ancient narratives with Afrofuturist visions to explore present day realities. It explores the magic of the Black Queer imagination, and questions how to build a home from an intersectional lens. Ultimately these works aim to create gateways and access points to healing from collective and generational traumas, and assert that healing can be a celebration of joy, mundanity, pain, pleasure, and fantasy coexisting. As an artist, Odera works with clients and galleries to create work that is deeply personal, soulful, and intersectional.

Odera holds a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design and studied West African Dance Movement and Theatre Arts at Brown University with New Works/World Traditions. Their work has featured in exhibitions, publishing, and gaming. Recent collaborations and exhibitions include working with Vancouver Art Gallery, Nia Centre for the Arts, Surrey Art Gallery, 221A, and CBC Arts.

©Odera Igbokwe. All rights reserved. Usage, reproduction, or altering of artwork is not permitted without permission. Each piece of artwork is an intellectual property and is protected by copyright law.