Adenrele Sonariwo is a Nigerian entrepreneur and art curator. She is the founder of the

Rele Art Gallery Rele Gallery is a contemporary art space and gallery in Lagos, Nigeria. It is on Military Street, Onikan Lagos and on Victoria Island, Lagos. History Rele was founded by Adenrele Sonariwo, art curator and former accountant, former employee of ...

on Military Street, Onikan,

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a pop ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

as well as the Rele Art Gallery on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Rele Gallery is the first African contemporary art gallery to establish an outpost in Los Angeles. Sonariwo was the lead curator of the first Nigerian pavilion at the 57th

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in 2017. Alongside the

, Sonariwo is also the founding director of the Rele Arts Foundation. The foundation's projects include the annual young Contemporaries programme, which offers grants, mentorship, residences and training to a small group of emerging artists, an opportunity that results in an exhibition hosted at the gallery.

Education

Sonariwo got her first degree in accounting at Howard University in 2007, then went on to work at

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

as an accountant for four years. She has an MA Multimedia Communications from the Academy of Art University and a certificate in Curating Contemporary Art Exhibitions from the

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

Rele Gallery

On return to Nigeria, she founded

in 2010, though it didn't kick off as a physical space until February, 2015. In 2011, while the idea of the gallery had started taking root, she attempted to start an arts university in Nigeria which she called ''The Modern Day School of the Arts.'' It was "a pop up art school for art lovers who may be stuck in a different career."

57th Venice Biennale

In 2017, Sonariwo became the lead curator of the first Nigerian pavilion at the 57th

. She was joined by writer and art critic

Emmanuel Iduma Emmanuel Iduma (born 1989) is a Nigerian writer and art critic. He is the author of ''A Stranger's Pose'' (2018) and ''Farad'' (2012). In 2016, ''Farad'' was republished in North America as ''The Sound of Things to Come''. He was awarded the i ...

as associate curator. The edition was themed ''Viva Arte Viva'' and the Nigerian pavilion featured the work of

Victor Ehikhamenor Victor Ehikhamenor is a Nigerian visual artist, writer, and photographer known for his expansive works that engage with multinational cultural heritage and postcolonial socioeconomics of contemporary black lives. In 2017, he was selected (along w ...

Peju Alatise Peju Alatise (born 1975) is a Nigerian artist, poet, writer, and a fellow at the National Museum of African Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution. Alatise received formal training as an architect at Ladoke Akintola University in Oyo State, Ni ...

, and

Qudus Onikeku Qudus Onikeku is a Nigerian dancer and performer who has been described as "an atypical artist". He was one of the three artists invited to Nigeria's first appearance at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Biography and work Onikeku lived in France for ...

Awards and other Honours

Sonariwo won The Future Awards for Arts and Culture in 2016. She has also been on the Power List of influencers in culture in 2016 and 2017. In March 2017, she was listed as one of the 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria. She has spoken at TEDx events, and been a member of the jury at Dak'art Biennale which took place in 2018. She has also graced the cover of Guardian ''Life'' magazine in Nigeria. In 2018, Vogue listed her as one of the "Five Coolest Women in Lagos". Since 2019, Sonariwo has been a consultant on culture ad tourism to the Governor of

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

Personal life

Sonariwo is the daughter of the 18th Akarigbo of Remo, Oba Michael Sonariwo, who died in 2016 at 80 years.

Notable interviews

* An Interview With Adenrele Sonariwo at ''The Spark'' (March 2018) * Adenrele Sonariwo: Giving The Arts A Voice at ''The Guardian'' (January, 2018) *The Venice Questionnaire

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonariwo, Adenrele Nigerian accountants Living people Nigerian art curators Howard University alumni Academy of Art University alumni 21st-century Nigerian businesswomen 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Year of birth missing (living people) Nigerian women curators