CV | Abraham Babajide Cole
Born: 1984, Lagos, Nigeria
Residence: West Midlands, United Kingdom
ART RESIDENCIES
2026 Blast Creative Network (BCN) Artist Residency & Exhibition
Wolverhampton School of Art, Wolverhampton, UK
2026 Assembly Residency & Exhibition
New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, UK
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2027 Rituals of Earth & Memory
Lewisham Arthouse, South London, UK
2025 Ijinlẹ Ara – The Depth of Self
Omenka Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
2025 Bound by Roots, Divided by Paths (Modakeke & Ife)
Dudley Library, Dudley, UK
2024 Suns of Egypt
Blank Wall Gallery, Athens, Greece
2022 Deep Introspection
ArtRooms Gallery, Birmingham, UK
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 Midland Metropolitan Learning Campus Mural Commission. Sandwell, UK
2026 The BlastArtist Development Program Exhibition
Wolverhampton School of Art, Wolverhampton, UK
2026 The Assembly Exhibition
New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, UK
2026 NAE Open Exhibition & Award
New Art Exchange, Nottingham, UK
2026 Royal Society of British Artists Exhibition
Mall Galleries, London, UK
2026 Royal Society of Birmingham Artist Summer Exhibition, London, UK
2025 Diversity Group Exhibition
ORT Gallery, Birmingham, UK
2025 Yellow Exhibition
Nook Gallery, Birmingham, UK
2025 ORT Members Exhibition
Stryx Gallery, Birmingham, UK
2023 United Artists of South Birmingham
Moseley Exchange Hall, Birmingham, UK
2022 ORT Members Exhibition
ORT Gallery, Birmingham, UK
PUBLIC ART / PROJECTS / WORKSHOPS
2026 Landscapes From Home Exhibition, Co-Curator
Africa Centre, London, UK
2026 Creative Connections Programme, Workshop Facilitator
Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton, UK
2025 Textile Design Collaboration – The Global Fund Anti-Malaria Campaign
Commissioned in partnership with M&C Saatchi London
2025 Creative Connections & Good Shepherd Programme, Workshop Facilitator
Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton, UK
2024 Lead Artist, Yoruba Heritage Public Art Mural
Southwark, London, UK
2024 Art Workshop Facilitator
ORT Gallery, Birmingham, UK
SELECTED AWARDS & RECOGNITION
2026 Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, London, UK
2026 Sky Landscape Artist of the Year, Selected Shortlist, Sky Arts, UK
2026 Jackson’s Art Prize, Selected Shortlist, London, UK
2026 Royal Society of Birmingham Artist Prize (RBSA), Selected Shortlist, London, UK
2026 Royal Society of British Artists Exhibition, Selected Shortlist, London, UK
2020 Jury Member, New York Festivals Awards, USA
2020 Creative Personality of the Year
Marketing Edge Creative Art Awards, Nigeria
2020 Bronze Award – Social Impact in Design
African Cristal Festival, Marrakesh, Morocco
2018 Gold Award – Best Art & Design
LAIF Awards, Nigeria
2018 Bronze Award – Social Impact in Design
LAIF Awards, Nigeria
EDUCATION
2012 Art & Design
Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria
2007 Fine Art
Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria
Artist Biography
Abraham Babajide Cole is a Nigerian-born multidisciplinary artist based in the UK since 2021. Working across painting, sculpture and installation, his practice explores migration, material memory and ritual architecture through clay, charcoal, beeswax, fibre and organic matter.
Drawing from Yoruba cosmology and contemporary material practice, his works exist between body, landscape and archive. Cole was artist in residence at Wolverhampton School of Art through the BCN Residency Programme in partnership with Multistory, in January 2026.
Current exhibitions include NAE Open Exhibition & Award, New Art Exchange, Nottingham; The Assembly curated by Multistory and New Walsall Art Gallery in July 2026 and a solo exhibition Rituals of Earth & Memory at Lewisham Arthouse in spring 2027.
Cole regularly leads workshops and artist talks within the community creating spaces for storytelling, reflection and collaborative making. These community projects often centre around memory, belonging and the relationship between people and places in a playful and participatory way.