Acclaimed global artist, Njideka Akunyili-Crosby has been profiled in the 2019 Time Magazine ‘100 Next’ list.
Time’s ‘100 Next’ is an annual listicle of the 100 influential people in the world who are actively contributing to change the world through their craft.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akunyili-Crosby is the daughter of the late Dora Akunyili, former Director-General of the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
In a blurb describing her, journalist Madeleine Carlisle wrote, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s works have sold for millions at auctions.
“But in 2018, it was possible to see one at Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art free of charge—you didn’t even have to go inside.
“The visual artist was only the second person to be chosen to create a mural on the walls of the museum itself, which was visible from Grand Avenue’s sidewalk.
“It featured brightly coloured scenes of domestic life: in one section, a woman rests her elbow on a table, seemingly deep in thought.
“Akunyili Crosby—who moved to the U.S. from Nigeria in her teens—is known for such scenes, some of which are autobiographical and incorporate references to both countries,” Carlisle wrote.
In her words, Akunyili-Crosby told TIME, “I’m really looking at how [Nigeria and the U.S.] are complex hybrid spaces.”
NAN reports that in 2018, she made history after selling a painting of hers for the sum of N1.2 billion.
She recently won a MacArthur Genius Grant which set her N225 million richer.
Her iconic Bush Babies painting was sold by Sotheby’s for N1.2 billion.