Antawan I. Byrd is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Northwestern University and an Associate Curator of Photography and Media at the Art Institute of Chicago.

He is a co-curator of Project A Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica. His other recent exhibitions include Closer to the Earth, Closer to My Own Body, a solo exhibition of work by the Kenyan artist Mimi Cherono Ng’ok (2022) and The People Shall Govern! Medu Art Ensemble and the Anti-Apartheid Poster (2019).

He was a co-curator of the 2nd Lagos Biennial of Contemporary Art (2019), Kader Attia: Reflecting Memory at Northwestern’s Block Museum of Art (2017) and was an associate curator for the 10th Bamako Encounters, Biennale of African Photography (2015).

In 2017, he received the Award for Curatorial Excellence from the Arts Council of the African Studies Association. From 2009 to 2011, he was a Fulbright fellow and curatorial assistant at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos. Byrd serves on the Board of Trustees of the Graham Foundation, Chicago.

He is currently at work on a book project that explores the centrality of sound technologies to the art and politics of the 1960s, focusing on practices across Africa and the African diaspora.

Ayo Adeyinka is a London-based art dealer and gallerist.

Since its founding, his gallery TAFETA, has remained a leading purveyor of important 20th century artists of African descent, whilst constantly showcasing new contemporary talent. The gallery, located in Fitzrovia, London, is regularly featured in notable international publications such as the Financial Times, The New York Times, the Art Newspaper and has worked to place contemporary African art in prominent public and private collections, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Arts, Washington D.C, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the House of European History, Brussels to name a few.

With a Bachelors degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria and a MSc Finance from Westminster University London, Ayo spent the first 10 years of his professional career in financial services, but over time has gained recognition as a leading specialist in contemporary African arts.

A seasoned cultural entrepreneur, he has acted as a consultant for key art projects globally and was a panelist at The New York Times Art Leaders Network conference in Berlin, Germany.

Odun Orimolade PhD is an artist, researcher, academic, curator and cultural practitioner whose open practice and research embraces experimental and trans-disciplinary approaches. She explores space, overlapping realities, plausibility, and the intangible in relation to human behavior, interaction and navigation mechanisms alongside other participatory practices mentorship and collaborations on different issues.

She contributes to various fields of creative activity in addition to community projects and workshops. She has presented her creative work in several spaces. Orimolade lectures at the Yaba College of Technology. She has served as coordinator for the UNESCO/UNEVOC Center for Research and Sustainable Development, Sub-Dean of the School of Art, Design, and Printing, and curator of the Yusuf Grillo Gallery.

She also served as founding curator for the new Yusuf Grillo Museum, Lagos and Research Fellow of the College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa.
She currently serves as the Curatorial Director of the Yaba Art Museum.

She is strongly committed to collaboration for creative development and civic responsibility. She is fellow of the Lagos Studies Association, she is also fellow of the Society of Nigerian Artists. She is a member of the Arts council of the African Studies Association and the Common Wealth of Learning. She is also member of the Out of Site Performance Initiative, Chicago amongst other engagements such as organizing the Annual Performance Art Intensive Workshop in Lagos.