Eto Otitigbe
Eto Otitigbe is interested in recovering buried narratives and giving form to the unseen. He is a polymedia artist whose interdisciplinary practice includes sculpture, performance, installation, and public art. His public art intersects history, community, and biophilic design by using parametric modeling and generative design to transform historical and cultural references into biomorphic forms and patterns that reference nature. Otitigbe’s public works includes temporary installations in Socrates Sculpture Park (Queens, NY) and Randall’s Island Park (New York, NY). His current large-scale public commissions include: Peaceful Journey (Mt. Vernon, NY, 2022); Cascode (Philadelphia, PA, 2024); Emanativ (Harlem, NY, 2023); Passing Point (Alexandria, VA, 2023). He was a member of the Design Team for the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at UVA (Charlottesville, VA, 2019) where he contributed to the creative expression on the memorial's exterior surface.
Otitigbe's work has been in solo and group exhibitions that include 2013 Bronx Calling: The Second AIM Biennial, organized by the Bronx Museum and Wave Hill; Abandoned Orchestra, Sound Sculpture (2021) installation and performance with Zane Rodulfo, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; The Golden Hour, Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, GA, curated by Oshun D. Layne; and Bronx: Africa (2016), Longwood Gallery, Bronx, NY, curated by Atim Oton and Leronn P. Brooks.
Otitigbe’s fellowships and awards include the Creative Capital Award (2023), the CEC Artslink Project Award for travel and cultural projects in Egypt (2015), and the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship at the National Museum of African Art (2018) where he explored the intersection of Urhobo language and historical objects.
His curatorial projects include directing the es ORO Gallery in Jersey City, NJ (2007-09) and co-curating, alongside Amanda Kerdahi, the Topophilia Exhibition in Nees, Denmark (2017) as part of the ET4U Meetings Festival in Denmark.
He is an Assistant Professor of Sculpture in the Art Department at Brooklyn College. He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, an MS in Product Design from Stanford University and an MFA in Creative Practice from the University of Plymouth.
About Emanativ
As a part of our commitment to support Artists of the Global Majority in the development of new work alongside a commitment to enrich and engage our neighboring communities, we are thrilled to partner with Eto Otitigbe on a series of community-centered programming that will culminate with the installation of Emanativ, a public artwork to be installed at the Manhattan Greenway Harlem River in 2026.
Image courtesy of Eto Otitigbe