Past Resident

Olaniyi R.Akindiya Akirash

Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya (aka Akirash) was born in Lagos, Nigeria and earned his BS in Biochemistry from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta Nigeria and studied Fine and Applied Art at the Institute of Textile Technology Art & Design Lagos. He currently lives and works between Lagos and Austin, Texas, creating work that focuses on fleeting moments that reflect on rural and urban life, the accelerated pace of development, and social infrastructure among other topics. He uses various materials and techniques, including re-purposed items with results ranging from mixed media, sculpture, painting, installation, video, and photography to sound and performance work. 

Akirash received the Otis & Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant Award from the Dallas Museum of Art in 2019 to travel to Cameroon, Ghana, and the Bahamas for ongoing research into masks, masquerades, costumes, and symbols as a form of communication rooted in Africa that has spread all over the world.

Other awards include CORE Funding from the Cultural Art Division of Austin TX,  the Innovative Artist Award from Mid America Artist Alliance (MAAA / NEA), the Pollock Krasner Foundation Award, the Cultural Initiative & Capacity Building Grant, Culture Alive Austin, The Santo Foundation Grant, and the Commonwealth Connection Award. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube

“My work focuses on moments of time, fleeting moments that can be easily forgotten or transformed. Reflecting on rural versus urban life, the accelerated pace of development and social infrastructure. My works and performative activities play around social subjectivities with dramatic components, breaking down conventional barriers. 

My work is designed to create comfort, peace, and solace. I believe that art can be a balm to the soul, revealing a quiet inner truth. My art is a reflection of the joys of life, directly inspired by rhythm, harmony, and the movement of daily existence.”