
IBIYINKA OLUFEMI ALAO
NigeriaUnited Nations Ambassador for the Arts
Ibiyinka Alao is an artist and architect who represented his country – Nigeria and won the first place out of 61 countries in the prestigious United Nations International Arts Competition.
His entry “Girls and a Greener Environment” chronicles the life of a child from infancy to adulthood and the values acquired along the paths of Life. Ibiyinka’s perspective is from the traditional African viewpoint. In 2016, a childhood story about Fireflies which he made into a painting in 2006 won the grand prize in the Scholastic “Kids as Authors” writing contest. It was published by Scholastic with the title “Ibi’s Fireflies.” It is a true story about redemption, love and having second chances in life.
His work has been featured in many prestigious establishments around the world, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, The World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC, to name a few.