El Anatsui photographed at his studio in Nsukka in August, with new works, as yet untitled, made from aluminium and copper wire.
(Image credit: Uche James Iroha)
Sinmidele Adesanya had the privilege of serving as guest speaker in 2014 when the renowned artist Professor El Anatsui turned 70 and was celebrated at the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, under the directorship of the late Bisi Silva. As El Anatsui marked his 82nd birthday on February 4, 2026, Adesanya who is the founder of Mydrim Gallery, penned a birthday tribute to the sage of contemporary African art.
Birthday Tribute by Sinmidele Adesanya, additional article Ireho Aito. Special appreciation Dr. Mudiare Onobrakpeya
In the often fast-moving, market-driven world of contemporary art, there are figures who choose a different rhythm like one rooted in patience, conviction, and long-term cultural vision. Sinmidele Adesanya is one of those figures.
As the founder of Mydrim Gallery, Lagos, Sinmidele Adesanya has spent decades quietly shaping Nigeria’s modern and contemporary art landscape. Her journey has never been about spectacle. Instead, it has been about stewardship, creating a space where art is not merely displayed, but respected, contextualised, and allowed to speak with integrity.
Mydrim Gallery emerged at a time when operating a serious, professionally run gallery in Nigeria required courage, faith, and resilience. Sinmidele stepped into that challenge with clarity of purpose. From its earliest years, Mydrim positioned itself as more than a commercial gallery; it became a cultural institution one committed to nurturing artists, educating audiences, and building trust between creators and collectors.
Over the years, Mydrim has worked with some of Africa’s most important artistic voices, presenting exhibitions that balanced scholarship with accessibility. Sinmidele’s curatorial approach has always been thoughtful and intentional, privileging depth over trend, and legacy over momentary attention. Her gallery has consistently provided a platform for artists whose practices engage history, identity, material, and memory artists whose work demands reflection.
Operating a gallery in Nigeria is no small feat. It requires navigating infrastructural challenges, shifting economies, and evolving cultural attitudes toward art. Yet Sinmidele Adesanya has sustained Mydrim Gallery through decades of change, anchoring it firmly within both local relevance and global dialogue. In doing so, she has helped normalise the idea that African art institutions can be enduring, principled, and internationally respected.
Within the art ecosystem and among artists, curators, collectors, and scholars, Sinmidele is recognised not just as a gallerist, but as a cultural custodian. Her work reflects a belief that art carries responsibility: to history, to society, and to future generations. This belief has guided her collaborations, exhibitions, and long-term commitment to excellence.
It is therefore fitting that one of the figures she most reveres is El Anatsui—an artist whose life and practice mirror the very values she has upheld throughout her career: discipline, humility, innovation, and quiet power.
On 4 February 2026, as El Anatsui turns 82, Sinmidele Adesanya offers not just a tribute, but a deeply personal reflection one shaped by years of witnessing his impact on African and global art.
A Birthday Tribute to El Anatsui at 82
By Sinmidele Adesanya
Today we celebrate more than a birthday; we honour a life that has quietly and profoundly reshaped the soul of contemporary art.
El Anatsui’s journey has been one of innovation, patience, resilience, and transformation. From simple, discarded materials, he has revealed entire worlds of meaning, by turning fragments into form, waste into wonder, and the ordinary into the exquisite.
What makes his work extraordinary is not only its scale and beauty, but its depth. His art carries history without heaviness, power without noise, and presence without force. It speaks to both the present and the future rooted in Africa, yet belonging to the world.
El Anatsui has taught us that greatness is not loud, and that true mastery is often quiet, disciplined, and deeply intentional. Through his life’s work, he has given Africa not just visibility, but authority showing the world that African creativity does not imitate global culture; it shapes it.
To many of us within the art ecosystem, including artists, gallerists, curators, collectors, and art enthusiasts, he is more than a master. He is a role model and a reference point for integrity, humility, excellence, and purpose.
At Mydrim Gallery, we celebrate El Anatsui as a global icon and a generous, compassionate man whose life has impacted many. His legacy is not only found in museums and collections, but in the minds he has awakened and the paths he has opened.
Happy Birthday, Master.
May your days continue to unfold with meaning, light, and quiet strength.
May God bless and keep you, sir.
Sinmidele Adesanya
Founder, Mydrim Gallery
Lagos, Nigeria
4 February 2026
iBAND Magazine, Celebrating Visual Arts from the Original.
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