Sankofa: African Routes, Canadian Roots exhibition, currently showing until March 2022. "Sankofa" is the idea of moving forward while reaching back to connect to one’s heritage. It is the notion that taking pride in heritage helps us to move into the future. Sankofa comes from the Ghanaian Akan language, and the word and its essence have been adopted by many African and Black people around the globe as an expression of cultural and political affirmation.

These two featured pieces of Odera Igbokwe's collection are entitled, The Ori, The Connector., a portrait card depicting one subject, and Nine Negro Teeth, a landscape card depicting nine subjects. These two incredibly detailed art cards are a fantastic gift for friends and family or can be framed on your own wall as decor. 

Odera Igbokwe is an illustrator and painter located in Vancouver, B.C., from Brooklyn, New York. Odera loves to explore storytelling through Afro-diasporic mythologies, Black resilience, and magical girl transformation sequences. Their work alchemizes colour, movement, and queer magic to weave together ancient narratives with Afrofuturist visions. As a freelance illustrator, Odera works with clients and galleries to create work that is deeply personal, soulful, and intersectional.

• 5" x 7" card  
• White semi-gloss paper stock
• Includes envelope and protective plastic sleeve
• Royalties paid to the artist 

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The Ori, The Connector.

"Celestial bodies pulse and release their aches
In their alignment, they remember the earliest lullaby.
The incantations that crackle amongst dreamscapes" —Odera Igbokwe

Originally oils on illustration board; transitioned to print. Featured in Museum of Anthropology's exhibition, Sankofa: African Routes, Canadian Roots.

Nine Negro Teeth.

Illustration for "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" by Phenderson Djèlí Clark.

Featured in Museum of Anthropology's exhibition, Sankofa: African Routes, Canadian Roots.