Baker Artist Portfolios

VILLAGER (b. Abdul Rasheed Adekunle Adaranijo in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian-born international Artist and Cultural Producer whose work exists to scrutinize, deconstruct, and redefine what it means to be a “Contemporary African." Through varied mediums such as painting, sculpture, print-making, photography, site-specific and public installation, audio-visual interactive media, performance art, and cultural facilitation, VILLAGER's work echoes a spiritual, anthropological, and research-oriented reexamination of consciousness, existence, and divine energetic potential grounded in the remembrance of Yorùbá and broader African knowledge systems, cultural and spiritual practices, philosophies, and traditions.

VILLAGER is formally trained as a Water Microbiologist and Environmental Researcher, receiving a B.S. in Environmental Chemistry at Towson University in 2020. VILLAGER has presented solo exhibitions in Baltimore, MD, BUSH BOY! (2022) at Chesapeake Arts Center and is currently exhibiting a solo exhibition titled "ÀṢẸ: Embodying the Divine" at The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, Baltimore, MD till December 17, 2024. VILLAGER has also been selected in group exhibitions, Sou(l): Mostra de Arte Afro-Diaspórica, Artspace Vigidal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, BLAQ SHEEP, Superchief Gallery LA, Los Angeles, CA, AFROFUTURISM: 100 years after the Harlem Renaissance, Papermill Playhouse, Millburn, NJ, Holiday on Holliday: Baltimore’s Mosaic of Holiday Hope & Harmony, Baltimore City Hall, Baltimore, MD, B24 Artscape Exhibition, Riggs Gallery & Leidy Gallery (MICA), Baltimore, MD, to name a few. VILLAGER has also been commissioned for performances at THE ROUSE COMPANY FOUNDATION GALLERY, Creative Alliance, and Maryland Art Place.

BmoreART, Baltimore Banner, and NUNAR have all recognized VILLAGER's world-building and distinct work in their publications. VILLAGER is also a 2024 recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Grants for Artists, and the Free Fall Baltimore Grant. VILLAGER's artwork can be found in private art collections in Los Angeles, CA, Baltimore, MD, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

VILLAGER currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD, and plans to re-establish roots in their hometown Lagos, Nigeria in 2025.