10 Digital Artists: African artists you should know
The digital revolution in Africa has accelerated industrial developments as well as given way to new creative practices and a fresh and vibrant art scene. New media artists are dedicated to changing the historic narrative of slavery and colonization in Africa into hope, opportunity, and growth.
Whether you are an artist looking for inspiration, a curator working on an exhibition, or a digital arts fan looking to discover digital artists, this list is for you.
Here’s a list of 10 talented African digital artists who experiment with digital illustration, animation, photography, digital collage, and more. Welding the traditional and the unconventional together, they dive into the web3 creative economy and create a global support network for Africans everywhere.
Digital artists from Africa you should know!
Scroll to learn more about them! Here’s the featured artists:Maxwell DeWunmiMaryjane UzodinmaAnjolaDaveThato TataiAbieyuwaIsaac UdogwuVintagemozartLethabo HumaArclightDarkMythstlet's be friends on instagram!
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let's be friends on instagram! 〰️
Maxwell DeWunmi is a digital artist, illustrator, and graphic designer from Nigeria. He was raised in the northern central city of Jos and is now based in Lagos. He has studied physics and works mostly with 3d software.
When he first started creating digital artworks and NFTs, he says, he was fixated on the idea that his art needs to look African. He later realized that his art is most powerful when he focuses on what inspires him personally and found his unique style that depicts a beautiful dystopian reality.
We absolutely love his NFT collection called THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A MIRROR, which tells a multilayered story of religion and power in four striking artworks.
“I live to create beautiful things.”
Maryjane Uzodinma is a 19-year-old digital artist and illustrator from Lagos, Nigeria. She creates digital portraits and 3D cinematic renders and is also a certified Robotic Engineer. She has worked with ElewaTV, Shecluded, United Nations, and Data4SDGs.
Maryjane’s art concentrates on black culture and community. She creates to turn fear into hope; to empower her community to feel proud of their culture and highlight their unique identities.
“As Human we are connected to our emotions based on relationships, ethnicity, our wins, failures and a lot more. Though most leaves SCARS we can always find the STARS in them.”
Make sure to visit Her Crown VR Showcase to see Maryjane’s gorgeous art and learn more about her inspirations.
AnjolaOluwa David Aduroja, better known as AnjolaDave in the digital arts world, is a 3D artist from Nigeria. He creates using photography, graphic design, and UI/UX.
AnjolaDave’s works are recognizable for their colorful lines, textures, and compositions that convey optimism, faith, and hope. His art tells stories of embracing one’s identity, creating one’s own destiny, and dreaming so big that it’s scary.
AnjolaDave acknowledges the challenges in web3 space and is dedicated to supporting African digital artists for more exposure and fairly-valued NFTs. In addition to being an inspiration for emerging artists, he recently had his artworks showcased at NFT.NYC 2023!
Thato Tatai is a graphic designer and contemporary artist from Gauteng, South Africa. His art has been exhibited at Miami Art Week, NFT Paris, and more.
Since his first job where he learned to draw with computers using CAD and vector programs, he has been fascinated by using technology to bring his ideas to life and enhance his craft.
“Garcin influenced the use of the sphere and contrast, Dali influenced the use of balance and Irving Penn influenced composition.”
Thato’s work is recognizable for its minimalistic and abstract use of shapes and patterns. He aims to explore complex ideas and convey and evoke emotions through simple forms and classic compositions. He says it’s rewarding to hear various meanings the viewers get from his art, and therefore he leaves his creations open to interpretation.
He truly is an incredible talent who aptly demonstrates the power of minimalism.
Abieyuwa is a Nigerian-American multidisciplinary artist and curator. She experiments with technology and creates using photography, digital and analog video, and 3D modeling. She is part of the operations team for the African NFT Community and also is a member of Cyberbaat DAO, Accelerate Art, and Friends With Benefits.
Even though she has been in love with art and drawing since she was a child, she decided to major in something “serious” and get a full-time job after college — only to realize that it wasn't what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Abieyuwa overcame her bashfulness and decided to showcase her art, and since then her art has been featured in various exhibitions including ones in NFT.NYC and Art Basel during the Miami Art Week.
Her art is inspired by her Esan and Igbo heritage and being a Black woman in contemporary society — and we are huge fans.
Isaac Udogwu is a Nigerian-American digital artist and martial artist who is currently based in South Carolina. His art focuses on messages around black liberation and themes from West African and Black Southern culture.
He creates to explore the relationship between the universe and humans. He aims to awaken the higher self while allowing constant rebirth and self-discovery along the journey of life. Isaac’s art reminds us to listen to our inner voice to find our purpose — and it’s powerful.
Lethabo Huma is a digital artist from Pretoria, South Africa. Her work has been recognized by prestigious art institutions such as Christie's and Sotheby’s, and she has worked with companies like Vodafone and Archive. She has been featured in Time Magazine, The Washington Post, CoinDesk, and more.
She depicts flowers, clouds, sunsets, and gorgeous figures — mostly women — in her works, which feel like memories. She says her work is a reflection of her mental and emotional responses to experiences and serves as a visual diary, exploring her identity.
“To art is to trust yourself.
To art is to open yourself up to the world so much that your story flows freely, without any bounds.
To art is to allow yourself to just be.
To art is to
bloom.”
Abdulrahman Adesola Yusuf, better known as Arclight in the digital arts world, is a multidimensional artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He holds a degree in graphic design and is inspired by baroque and rococo movements, as well as minimalism and pop.
Achlight’s art is recognizable for its striking, vibrant colors that contrast his black subjects. He tells stories of black men, utilizing digital illustration, collage, photography, and painting.
He draws inspirations from his memories of growing up in Lagos where he was constrained by poverty, police brutality, and a lack of academic opportunities. Yet, he presents these memories along with themes of self-love and self-awareness as a coping mechanism against all the sociopolitical issues. He acknowledges the vibrant nature of his upbringing and that it made him excited about exploring subconscious human impulses and growth.
Archlight is a wise and talented digital artist whose art should most definitely be on your radar!
“Have you felt so much that you feel nothing?”
Vintagemozart is a Zimbabwean afro-surrealist and afrofuturist digital artist and curator. He has worked with Instagram, Meta, World of Women NFT, and more.
He creates pictorial realms and surreal digital collages inspired by mystical tales and African and Greek mythology. Vintagemozart dreams of a transcendent future — he conceptualizes “what if” realities, where children can become whatever their hearts desire, where mother nature is respected and protected, and where humans support one another and rise together.
“I believe when you see children out in the real world, the one thing that would empower them the most is seeing themselves in a position where they can achieve anything their hearts or minds dreams of. This is beyond education. It is changing the cycle of what we need our youth to be surrounded by.”
We are completely in awe of his art which depicts traditional textures and colors of African culture in imagined futures.
Kwame-Michael Brako, better known as DarkMythst in the digital arts world, was born in Ghana and is currently based in California. He is a multitalented artist who creates using 3D sculpting, traditional acrylic and oil painting, visual effects, and photography. He also is a music composer, creating “unparalleled visual and audible experiences.”
DarkMythst started his career as a stereoscopic and VFX artist on Hollywood blockbuster films before moving on to creating his own art. He was selected as a TIMEPieces artist and his work has been featured in galleries all around the world including Korea, Vancouver, London, and NYC. His art is inspired by Afro/African-futurism, mythology, and heritage art — and it’s brilliant.
In 2022 DarkMythst created Afri'Ko Made, which in his words is an “AfroLuxurious collection to feed your inner royalty.” It is a collection of AfricanFuturism-inspired poster prints and hand-crafted physical sculptures that celebrate African culture.
He also co-founded African NFT Community with Vintagemozart — a community of Africans, descendants, and the diaspora — which has been awarded 2022s NFT Honoree top 100 in community building.
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