VILLAGER
photo by Stuart Ruston, courtesy of BOPA
VILLAGER (b. Abdul Rasheed Adekunle Adaranijo in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian-born International Artist, Cultural Producer, and African Spirituality Practicioner whose work exists to scrutinize, deconstruct, and redefine what it means to be a “Contemporary African." Through varied mediums such as painting, sculpture, print-making, photography, site-specific and public installation, audio-visual interactive media, performance art, curation, and cultural facilitation, VILLAGER's work echoes a spiritual, anthropological, and research-oriented reexamination of consciousness, existence, and divine energetic potential grounded in the remembrance of Yorùbá and broader African knowledge systems, cultural and spiritual practices, philosophies, and traditions.
Trained as a Water Microbiologist and Environmental Researcher, VILLAGER earned a B.S. in Environmental Chemistry from Towson University in 2020. They have presented solo exhibitions ÀṢẸ: Embodying the Divine (2024), and BUSH BOY! (2022) in Baltimore, MD. VILLAGER's work has also been exhibited in numerous group exhibitions including, Sou(l): Mostra de Arte Afro-Diaspórica, Artspace Vigidal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Diasporic Crossing, Southside Contemporary, Richmond, VA, BLAQ SHEEP, Superchief Gallery LA, Los Angeles, CA, AFROFUTURISM: 100 years after the Harlem Renaissance, Papermill Playhouse, Millburn, NJ to name a few. VILLAGER has also been commissioned for performances at The Peale Museum, THE ROUSE COMPANY FOUNDATION GALLERY, Creative Alliance, and Maryland Art Place.
VILLAGER's work has been featured in publications such as BmoreART, Baltimore Banner, and NUNAR, and has received several awards including the Baltimore Mayor's Office Individual Artist Award (2025). VILLAGER's artwork can be found in private art collections in Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Rio de Janeiro.
"VILLAGER is an essential new talent on the Baltimore Art Movement scene. Their work excavates history to weave and cultivate a depth of African Diasporic themes, motifs, tales, and heritage into these most modern artworks. His paintings emerge from layers upon layers of stories, patterns, and images until they arrive at the perfect picture for the moment. VILLAGER's work serves as a contemporary artful documentation of diasporic life" says BOPA Senior Curator and Public Art and Curation Manager, Kirk Shannon-Butts.
“By emphasizing the vibrancy of what he believes reflects his sitters' true nature and distinct energetic signature in the world, VILLAGER hopes his paintings remind us all about the power of our interconnected reality; we can heal ourselves and each other by honoring our humanity” says Art Historian and writer, Angela N. Carroll.
