Biography

Born in London and based in Grand Popo, Benin Republic, Tobi Onabolu practices as an artist-filmmaker and writer. Through video, installation, and performance, he explores the intersections between mental health, spirituality, and politics. 

His artist retreat Finding Etherea and festival Lọpọ Lọpọ, both in Grand Popo, foster cross-cultural collaboration between international artists and local communities. These initiatives explore the possibilities of art as a social practice, inviting a reflection on humanity’s collective relationship with the earth and each other.

His exhibition and performance history includes Galerie Ourrouss, Dakar OFF Biennale; Videotage, Hong Kong; Fondation Zinsou, Ouidah; and the Royal Albert Hall, London.

He holds an MA in African Studies from SOAS, where he wrote a thesis on his great uncle, Chief Aina Onabolu, the founding father of modernism in Nigeria. Onabolu is a Film London (FLAMIN) Fellow, and a G.A.S. Foundation Fellow. He served as a guest curator at ART X Lagos and as an Artistic Advisory Board member for Culturescapes, Basel.