Arts is one of the four pillars of GTBank’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy and the launch of Art635 is the latest of the Bank’s sustained efforts to promote African arts locally and internationally.

The GTBank Art635 Gallery (www.art635.gallery) is an online gallery open to all African artists and sculptors of all forms, both home and abroad. The Art635 “Hard Part of Art” workshop is a one-day collaborative art workshop for young African artists and sculptors to collaborate and rub minds with veterans in the Art world.

The Speakers:

Osa Okunkpolor popularly known as Osa Seven, is an Urban GFX and Graffiti Artist, with a passion for telling stories using contemporary art. His work ranges from portraits of iconic characters to scenic images, brand designs, abstract art, and tribal art designs that appeal to the human emotions. Armed with his stencils, spray paint, epoxy, varnish, paper, and boards, he disrupts spaces that allow him to express his creativity. In 2016, Osa Seven was featured on CNN African Voices where he shared his story.

Osa Seven will be taking the topic: “Creating Art Relevant to the Public”

Chamberlin Ukenedo uses his work to speak about the environment he lives in – not just for himself, but for everyone, including the disenfranchised and marginalized. He believes that art can be a political tool and he shows that aptly with his paintings. Chamberlin’s perception and ability to portray the complexities of human emotions firmly set him ahead of the curve. He is a versatile career artist who works as an illustrator, painter, cartoonist and art director.

Chamberlin will be taking the topic: “Art, Artists & Art Exhibitions”

Akinlabi Akinbulumo is a brand strategy expert and a member of the board of directors at the Trellis group of companies. An ardent follower of the Sun Tzu philosophy Akinlabi constantly driven by the maxim: “The true product of a company, regardless of its resources, is the quality of its thinking”. He has facilitated a number of Brand development and management sessions and also has co-facilitated seminars on Business Development, Leadership, Operational Excellence and Process Re‐Engineering.

Akinlabi Akinbulumo will be taking the topic: “The Business of Art”.

Ayobola Kekere-Ekun was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1993. She received her B.A. and M.A. in Visual Arts from the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos; where she majored in Graphic Design. She’s now a lecturer at the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos. Her work explores subjects connected to gender, mythology, power and the human condition in a multi-layered way; creating work through labour-intensive processes.

Ayobola Kekere-Ekun will be taking the topic: “Art and Technology”.

Interested Participants of this workshop must meet the following criteria:

1. Must be 18 – 25 years of age.

2. Must have sufficient evidence of their artistic skill and work somewhere online i.e. social media pages, personal website etc.

3. Must send an email indicating their interest in participating in the workshop and online evidence of their artistic work.

4. Must receive a confirmation email inviting them to attend the workshop.

5. Must bring a screenshot or printout of their invitation to the workshop venue on the day of the workshop.

To participate, send an email to csr@gtbank.com with your full name, date of birth, phone number and the relevant URLs to the website/ social media handles were we can view some of your artistic work. Please use the subject line “Application to Participate in the Hard Part of Art Workshop”.