October, also known as ‘art month’ in London, is finally here. Marked by art fairs such as Frieze, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, as well as a revolving door of exhibition openings at institutions across the country. In recognition of the month, we speak to Oyinkansola Dada, founder of the semi-digital Dada Gallery, and one of the youngest gallerists to exhibit at 1-54 and Christie’s.
A self-described ‘art and fashion girl,’ Oyinkansola Dada, 25, is incredibly impressive. From collaborating with designer Kenneth Ize on the art direction of his most recent Palais de Tokyo show to her full-time job as a corporate lawyer, one might wonder if she has more than 24 hours in a day. Dada and her team of three (an associate, a curator, and an intern), along with an external public relations firm, have successfully developed what was once an online blog, Polartics, chronicling her art adventures as a university student in London; into a gallery representing five emerging African artists and exhibiting at some of the biggest international art fairs.
Touria El Glaoui wants 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair to Become so Successful, It’s No Longer Needed
AMAKA: You're a curator, a gallerist and a collector, how did your journey into the art world start?
Oyinkansola Dada: It started quite organically. It wasn't something that I set out to be. When I was younger, nobody would ask me what I wanted to be and I would say, ‘Oh, I want to be in the arts or I want to collect art.’ I sort of just gradually developed an interest when I was in university, so I started going out to exhibitions, meeting artists, and then I decided that I wanted to write a blog about politics, because I was studying politics at the time, and art. I started that in 2015. That’s when the gallery was called Polartics and it was still a blog. That sort of developed for a couple of years, I didn't really know where it was going. I was just reading books, going to exhibitions, meeting artists, and then I decided that ‘Oh, wouldn't it be cool to have a place where you could buy digital prints from African artists and affordable art.’ I started doing a lot of solo traveling during that time, to mainly black countries and then I'd buy small pieces, and meet artists there. That just made me fall in love with the arts even more. My approach to art has always been not just ‘oh, I'm here in London.’ It's always been ‘What are people in Cote D’Ivoire doing? What are people in Senegal doing? What are people in Cuba doing?’ So it's very much connected to travel.
Then I moved to Lagos for a year to work at Art X Lagos. It further solidified my interest in the arts. My friends were mostly artists. I had my first exhibition there which was great. I got really sucked into the community and from that point on, things just developed. I started having more exhibitions and was connecting with more artists, either through Instagram or in person. I came back to London for law school, finished that and currently my day job is corporate law. I've now split my time between Lagos and London. We are having exhibitions here, but we're also maintaining our presence in Lagos.
When you first started selling digital prints in Lagos, what was the audience reaction like? Were people buying?
It wasn't easy. Selling art is not easy. There were people that were interested, but it was very few. It had to be people that had a strong interest, depending on the price point. There were quite a lot of people that were generally interested in the whole idea that would come to the exhibitions. In terms of actually buying, it wasn't that many. So, we quickly had to re-strategise the way we sold art and the way that we promoted artists. We moved away from being [solely] online and print-based and towards taking a more traditional approach to selling art, because it's a very personal thing. That means we still do the physical exhibitions; we still go to the art fairs because that's where we actually meet people that are interested in collecting and building their art collection. We still maintain the online presence just to have duality.
Has it been easier to tap into pre-existing collector bases than trying to develop a new market?
Definitely tapping in is the easiest way to go. We do get people that are new collectors and ask for advice. There are people that are starting to build their collections and we've been able to connect. It's usually people in their mid 20s or late 20s that have just started actually making money and feel that they have the disposable income to start investing in art.
A new way of doing things
Dada is a semi-digital gallery—you've had pop-up exhibitions, showed at fairs and have done temporary takeovers of spaces. In what ways does this model benefit you?
It means less overhead costs. Running a gallery is expensive, I don't know how the typical traditional galleries do it by having an all-year-round brick and mortar space. At this stage of our growth and development, we wouldn't be able to survive doing that. It's just not practical for us right now. It also helps us to be very flexible. I think flexibility is something that we're able to offer our artists that a lot of galleries are unable to. We don't have the typical approach, in that we want an exclusive contract for five years and you have to produce ‘so, so, and so.’ It’s more [of producing] when they can and when our program allows for it to happen. In terms of space, we're not restricted to space anymore because I can decide tomorrow that I want to have an exhibition in Dakar and I’ll speak to our artist there and we’ll do it there, so that just means we're very mobile. I think that really helps us tap into different spaces and different communities.
Do you often curate the shows yourself?
In the beginning I used to, but I've recently taken on a curator that works for us full time. We haven't done it yet but we're definitely open to working with curators that have an idea and bring it to the gallery.
As a gallerist, how do you decide what artists you want to work with and represent?
Honestly, it's just people that I like. I meet an artist, I like their work, I reach out to them to ask if they want to work together. For me, it's very important to form organic connections. I can't work with every artist; the team is small so we really have to just focus on the quality of the programming as opposed to the quantity.
"What I’m doing and what the gallery is doing is very unique to us. My goal isn't to fit in anywhere, but to find opportunities where we can."
We embrace our unique position
The art world is notoriously white, upper class, and western. How do you navigate that as a young Black woman entrepreneur?
It's been a lot of self-learning. We definitely aren't doing it on the same level as galleries with more resources and connections, but that hasn't really been something that has fazed me. I see that—not to brag or anything—we are also deserving of these things. I just don't see a lot of them as my business. They don't factor in where I'm trying to go. My goal has never been to take on the cloak of a blue-chip gallery and the way that they operate. What I’m doing and what the gallery is doing is very unique to us. My goal isn't to fit in anywhere, but to find opportunities where we can. My focus now is very much quality programming and meeting people that are genuine to work with because there are just so many people in this art world that you just don’t know.
You mentioned that you are a corporate lawyer, does your law background help you with the nitty gritty of running a gallery?
My role in the gallery now is more of a strategy role—trying to figure out what we should be doing and when we should be doing it. It's helping us build the connections that are necessary and important. I think [my background in law] really helps in being focused, disciplined, commercially-minded and gets us to where we need to go; because obviously, lawyers, especially corporate lawyers, help businesses run and achieve their goals. So, it's very good to be able to bring that unique perspective into the arts and the creative world and be the practical person in the room who can say, ‘Okay, I get where this idea is going, but in practicality, is that really going to be feasible? Can we really execute this? Can this really happen based on either money or time?’ I think it really grounds me in the business sense, in executing things and being organised.
How do you balance the two, being in the corporate sector and the art world?
Balance the two? Who told you I’m balancing? Honestly, I don't know. There's help which is good. There’s many social things that I don't go to because I have things to do. I just do what I can, and I leave the rest. We don’t have an exhibition every month because that's just not possible for me right now and I don't even think that's healthy. I'd rather focus my energy on less things that are impactful as opposed to just having programming, programming, programming.
In the shift, not only from Polartics to Dada, but also towards using some of the methods of traditional galleries like participating in international art fairs, what was key to allowing you to scale up in that way?
I'd say that pandemic actually helped us a whole lot in the sense that we were now sort-of operating on the same playing field as other galleries. We were all online. We didn't have that barrier of physicality so that really, really helped, I'll say. It's almost interesting to see galleries try to adopt the model we had before when this is already what we were doing. Last year was a pivotal year for us.
Investing in art is investing in the community
What would you say is the value of investing in art and why should young Black people consider this?
The biggest value of all is the sentimental value of it. Connecting with a piece and deciding that this is where I want to put my money. This is something that gives me joy, this is an artist that I truly believe in, and I want to see their work every day in my office, or my room, or my kitchen -wherever it is you want to put it. Even if you don't put it anywhere, just the value of knowing that you've invested in a practice that is evolving and growing. It's almost like giving back to the community, because a lot of times, especially when it's Black collectors that are also buying Black artists, you're stimulating culture. You're putting your money back into the hands of people that will create more art and make people feel things and have all these wonderful exhibitions that enrich our culture, creating and narrating new stories, and I think that's very, very important. Also, in the future if you decide that it's time to pass it on to somebody else, there's also potential monetary value in doing that especially if it's an artist that continues to grow their practice and is better known. At the very least, you will get back the amount that you put into it if it's an artist that’s building their career.
Where do you hope to see Dada Gallery in five years?
I think we will probably have more permanent spaces across the world. My hope is that we can have a space here in London, have something in Lagos, Dakar, and in one other country? I really want us to be in different locations around the world. In the next five years, I hope that we will exist in multiple places, even if not permanently, then building connections in different communities across Africa and in the diaspora as well. My hope is that the artists we're working with now have gained more recognition in their career and we've helped them achieve their goals, connect with the world and just get their voices heard.
Who are the artists that you are excited about right now?
Bunmi Augusto is doing really well. We're going to show her work next month at Christie's and 1-54 so I'm looking forward to that. We're also showing Tobi Alexandra Falade's work, so I'm really excited for that. I really like her work. I'm just going to mention all the people on the roster. [Laughs] You know, I'll just leave it at those two Black female artists that are just starting out their careers. It's great to be with them on the ride.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.