How we feel, our state of mind, is a function of how we live; and we learn to live by watching the lives of those who came before us.

Osione (b.1984) is an artist who works across different disciplines. He draws and paints life to capture beauty with depictions of the emotions we feel as we go through moments. Osione works with numerous mediums and styles including sound/music, film, acrylic, space/installation, drawing, print, collage, found objects, and graphic design.

Over the last decade, Osione has maintained a vibrant art practice contributing work to exhibitions like Rele’s Opening (2015), McKinsey Meets Art (2016), PPP/NNN (2017), hFACTOR’s Portraits of Animals, and Homecoming’s 16/16 exhibition (2020).

He has also participated in art and design residencies, where he explores the use of space, conversations, and technology to tackle intimacy in communal contexts. These residencies include: IKEA design agency, SPACE10’s “The New Everyday Life” (2020), and m.Bassy in collaboration with hFACTOR’s “Queering Spaces”.

Osione started his career as a graphic designer and policymaker, building brands and driving public sector reform for institutions like the World Bank, Adidas, and Persianas Retail (Puma & Lacoste). He is co-founder of homegrown fashion and lifestyle brand, THIS IS US NG, and founding member of creative collective hFACTOR.

Osione studied Marketing & Economics at Baylor University in Texas, where he honed his painting skills; after which he worked in advertising for DraftFCB on campaigns for brands like SkyeBank, Airtel and Unilever. He then pursued a career in public policy with a Masters from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Dissatisfied with the slow pace of reform in policy development practice, Osione setup a creative consultancy Light Design to help business leaders and public institutions harness their creativity to drive service delivery. Through Light Design, Osione has led brand-building efforts for ALÁRA, Lagos Fashion Week, ART X, Fuji: A Opera, MasterCard, and the Kwara State Government.

Today, Osione continues to consult for public and private sector leaders on governance and policy reforms to empower the next generation of creatives. He maintains a home studio in England and lives with his family as a UK Global Talent Artist.

Exhibitions & Performances

• “Next to Something”, FNB Art Joburg, Johannesburg, South Africa (September 2023)

• “An Incomplete History”, 16/16, Lagos, Nigeria (November 2022)

• “Thanks, Xenophobia”, FNB Art Joburg, Johannesburg, South Africa (September 2020)

• “Homecoming”, 16/16, Lagos, Nigeria (April 2019)

• “Queering Spaces”, m.Bassy, Hamburg, Germany (May 2019)

• “Portraits of Animals”, The Container, Accra, Ghana (August 2018)

• “Portraits of Animals”, hFACTOR, Lagos, Nigeria (July 2018)

• “PPP/NNN”, 16/16, Lagos, Nigeria (November 2017)

• “SLIDE Exhibition”, Light Design Studio, Lagos, Nigeria (October 2017)

• “Volume”, IAMISIGO, Lagos, Nigeria (September 2017)

• “Live Art”, AWCA at ART X Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria (November 2016)

• “McKinsey meets Art”, McKinsey, Lagos Nigeria (March 2016)

• “Rele at Art Hamptons”, Rele Gallery, Hamptons, NY, USA (January 2016)

• “Rele Group Show”, Rele Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria (February 2015)

Residencies

• hFACTOR at Chale Wote, Accra, Ghana (August 2018)

• DFID Ethronographic Education Research, Kano, Nigeria (July 2018)

• “Queering Spaces hFACTOR Residency” m.Bassy, Hamburg Germany (May 2019)

• "The New Everyday Life",  SPACE10, Copenhagen, Denmark (September 2020)

Special Projects

• “Maison/0 Heritage Indigo Project”, Central Saint Martins, London, UK (November 2022 —)

• “Education Transformation Agenda” Kwara State Government, Kwara, Nigeria (2020-2021)

• "hFACTOR Dispossessed - forced eviction research”, Heinrich böll Stiftung, Lagos, Nigeria (2020)

• “Edo Infrastructure Policy Design”, World Bank, Edo, Nigeria (2013 - 2014)

Brand, Design, Marketing, and Strategy

• Sports & Lifestyle: Puma Nigeria, Lacoste Nigeria, Adidas Nigeria

• Arts & Culture: Thai Thai, hFACTOR, 16/16, Fuji:A Opera, Afropolitan

• Fashion: Haute Fashion Africa (2007—), Lagos Fashion Week (2014 - 2016)

• Sustainability & Innovation: Roundabout Community

THIS IS US Nigeria

• Northern textile research trip (2017)

• Collection and Film Design (2017—)

Film

• “Indigo Baby”, London, UK (August 2023) (in production)

• “Funtuanimals”, THIS IS US NG, Lagos, Nigeria (November 2022)

• “Dictator”, THIS IS US NG, Lagos, Nigeria (January 2022)

• “Omizu Bonds”, THIS IS US NG, Lagos, Nigeria (July 2021)

• “Ukara: A Contemporary African Jewel” Ebonyi, Nigeria (2021) (Editor)

• “How to design like an African” Woven Threads, Lagos, Nigeria (April 2020)

• “Green White Green”, Lagos, Nigeria (2016) (Executive Producer)

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