The Collection

Marcellina Akpojotor is a Nigerian visual artist whose mixed-media practice explores femininity, identity, family history, and women’s empowerment. Introduced to art by her father—who trained her in drawing, design, stenciling, and calligraphy—she later studied Art and Industrial Design at Lagos State Polytechnic.

Akpojotor is best known for her richly layered collage paintings that incorporate discarded Ankara fabric sourced from local fashion houses. Despite its Dutch origins, Ankara has become widely regarded as “African print,” and in her hands the fabric operates as both material and metaphor: a cultural signifier, a vessel of memory, and a conduit for shared histories. Through the fusion of collage and traditional painting, her works blur the line between painting and sculpture, weaving together personal narratives with collective experience.

In 2017, she was selected for the Rele Arts Foundation’s Young Contemporaries program and awarded the Ronke Ekwensi Salon fellowship following her inclusion in The Art of Nigerian Women by Ben Bosah. Her first solo exhibition, She Was Not Dreaming (Rele Gallery, Lagos, 2018), was followed by Daughters of Esan: The Alpha Generation (Rele Gallery, Los Angeles, 2021). She has exhibited internationally, with group shows at institutions such as the Martin Museum of Art (Texas), L.A. Louver Gallery (Los Angeles), Ross Sutton Gallery (New York), and Carnegie Gallery (Ohio).

Her work has also been featured in major art fairs including Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Dubai, FNB Art Joburg, and the LA Art Show, cementing her reputation as a leading voice in contemporary African art.