Immanuel Oni
2023 Summer Fellow
Oni is a first-generation Nigerian-American artist and spatial designer living in New York City originally from Houston, TX. He believes art is not about what he is making, but who he is making it for. His work explores loss and its deep connection with space. His canvas consists of repurposing existing public space elements, such as light posts or under-utilized space, to prompt dialogue about ritual, healing, and connection. His aim is to collectively reimagine sites of loss into sacred space, aiming to fuse practical design elements with the spiritual. He has led and participated in international art and urbanism workshops in Venice, Hong Kong, and Lagos. He has received awards from the Design Trust for Public Space, Culture Push Fellowship, the New York for Culture and Arts Residency, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, More Art Engaging Artist Commission, AIA Brunner Grant, Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY, Youth Design Center, Architectural League of New York, and the New York State Council of the Arts. He is a former Director of Community Design at New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Adjunct Professor at Parsons School of Design at the New School. He is the co-founder and Creative Director of Liminal, a non-profit that works at the intersection of art, unity, and space.
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