BIO
Marcela Adeze Okeke is a Nigerian-Polish, first-generation-American artist and poet based in Chicago whose work utilizes the folkloric narrative of the “flying African” as a visual analytic to connect contemporary and historical instances of displacement and trauma in their family and Igbo bloodline. A self taught artist, Okeke originally began as an acrylic and oil painter and has since developed a multidisciplinary practice that includes weaving and indigo dyeing. The artist has shown in the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Museum of Science and Industry, Woman Made Gallery, ARC Gallery, FOURTUNEHOUSE Art Center and other local galleries. You can find Okeke’s artwork in several publications, including the 2022 Midwest edition of the acclaimed New American Paintings magazine. Their commissioned work is located in Podlasie Nightclub, Record Breakers and Gigi’s Playhouse. Currently, Okeke is bearing the cold of Chicago by counting down the days until they can attend their upcoming artist residency in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
View my Artist Statement and CV