Ademola Olugebefola audio and moving image collection

circa 1970s-2001

Ademola Olugebefola (b. October 2, 1941-) is a multidisciplinary visual artist, designer, educator, and businessman. Born in Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Olugebefola moved to New York City with his family at age four. He received an AA from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1961, and began studying printmaking at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in 1968. Olugebefola was a prominent figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. His diverse art practice includes drawing, graphic design, illustration, painting, printmaking, mural, sculpture, and theater set design, among other artistic forms.

Primarily a visual artist, he has worked in all areas of the arts, including as a singer and musician. Early in his career he was a jazz bassist and joined Pomusicart, a pioneering cultural workshop dedicated to the fusion of poetry, music, and art. Olugebefola's design talents and interests extend to the performing arts where he has been a stage manager, production director, and set and costume designer for a variety of theatrical and film productions. Between 1969 to 1972, he was a consultant to Barbara Ann Teer, director of the National Black Theatre, and worked with other theater organizations. Olugebefola's work has been featured nationally and internationally in numerous exhibitions at cultural institutions, galleries, museums, and universities, including at the Dallas Museum of Art; the Studio Museum in Harlem; and the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture in Lagos, Nigeria. His work is held in several public and private collections, including at the Schomburg Center, as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts.

Olugebefola was a founder of the Weusi Artist Collective ("Weusi" being a Swahili word for Black people), an organization of African American artists established in Harlem, New York City, in 1965. The collective was devoted to raising the cultural awareness of the African American community and advocated "Black Art, Black Brotherhood, and Black Unity." In 1967, members Abdullah Aziz, G. Falcon Beazer, Taiwo DuVall, Rudy Irvin, and Otto Neals founded the Nyumba Ya Sanaa (Swahili for "House of Art") Gallery in Harlem. In the early 1970s, the gallery, renamed Weusi Nyumba Ya Sanaa, was expanded and again renamed the Weusi Nyumba Ya Sanaa Academy of Fine Arts and Studies, with Olugebefola serving as the first director of the education department. The organization was a major driving force behind the development, production, and dissemination of Black art in the US in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1980, Olugebefola and his wife, photographer Pat Davis, formed Solar Associates, a firm specializing in advertising, public relations, and production. They later established Grinnell Gallery, an art gallery and multi-purpose space. In 1989, the two ventures merged to form Grinnell Galleries Collections. Additionally, Olugebefola co-founded the Dwyer Cultural Center in Harlem, which opened in 2009.

Olugebefola has been a frequent lecturer and panelist across the country. He has taught at schools, universities, and New York City community-based organizations. He has also served as consultant to several cultural, civic, and business organizations including the Harlem Cultural Council. He has held board positions with various organizations including the New York Arts Consortium; and the National Conference of Artists (NCA), the oldest and largest national organization of Black artists in the US. He was vice president of NCA from 1973 to 1977 and acting chairman of the New York region. Olugebefola was a consultant to the Robert Gumbs (Colbob) publishing company and in 1988 became a partner, together with his two brothers, forming Gumbs & Thomas Publishers, Inc. The company issues books, posters, and greeting cards, among other items

Olugebefola continues to play an active role in the Harlem community, and in the larger national and international artistic community.

For additional information on Ademola Olugebefola and his career, see the finding aid for the Ademola Olgebefola papers, Sc Micro R-6653.