Expert Advisors
Nnenna Okore
Artist, educator and environmentalist
Nnenna Okore is an artist-researcher-teacher who uses artistic practice, pedagogy, and social engagements to address ecological issues. As an internationally acclaimed art practitioner, Okore has been involved in numerous participatory art projects and exhibitions designed to produce dialogue, artmaking, and an awareness of current environmental issues. Working largely with eco-based materials, Okore uses food-based bioplastic materials to create delicate works of art that engender dialogue about waste reduction and sustainable practices in artmaking.
Okore has a B.A. from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka [N-su-ka), an MA and MFA from the University of Iowa; and a Ph.D. from Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). Added to her numerous national and international merits, Okore is a recipient of the 2012 Fulbright Scholar Award and Creative Victoria Creators Fund Award from Australia. Her works have been featured in major exhibitions at the Museum of Art and Design, NY; Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Art, New York; The Spelman Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta; Museu Afro Brasil, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the 2021 Brugge Triennial, and the 2021 Chengdu International Biennial in China. Okore’s works are currently on view at the Moody Center of Art (Rice University) and the Bradbury Art Museum. Her large-scale fiber art installation, titled ‘Spirit Dance’ opens at the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art in August 2023.