NJIDEKA AKUNYILI CROSBY
b. 1983, Enugu, Nigeria
EDUCATION
2011
MFA, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
2006
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2004
BA (Honors), Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
SELECTED SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2023
The Hilton Als Series: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, The Huntington, San Marino, CA. Curated by Hilton Als.
Coming Back to See Through, Again, David Zwirner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (May 23-July 29, 2023 ), David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY (September 14- October 28, 2023)
2022
The Hilton Als Series: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT. Curated by Hilton Als.
Contemporary Project: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
2019
The Beautyful Ones, Victoria Miro, Venice, Italy
2018
The Beautyful Ones, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK
FOCUS: Njideka Akunyili Crosby | Counterparts, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX
Remain, Thriving, Art on the Underground commission, Brixton Station, London, UK. Curated by Jessica Vaughan.
Dwell: Aso Ebi, mural, Hayward Gallery, London, UK
Obodo (Country/City/Town/Ancestral Village), mural, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
2017
Front Room: Njideka Akunyili Crosby | Counterparts, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
Predecessors, Tang Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
Predecessors, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
2016
Portals, Victoria Miro, London, UK
I Refuse to be Invisible, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL. Organized by Cheryl Brutvan.
Before Now After (Mama, Mummy, Mamma), billboard, 95 Horatio Street, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
2015
Hammer Projects: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA. Organized by Jamillah James.
The Beautyful Ones, Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA. Organized by Jamillah James.
2013
I Always Face You, Even When it Seems Otherwise,Tiwani Contemporary, London, UK (two-person show with Simone Leigh)
Domestic Experiences, Foreign Interiors, Sensei Exchange, New York, NY (two-person show with Doron Langberg)
I Still Face You, Franklin Art Works, Minneapolis, MN
New Works, Gallery Zidoun, Luxembourg (two-person show with Abigail DeVille)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026
To My Best Friend, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Boston, MA. January 23–December 31, 2026.
California Light and Space (The 21st Century Version), June 4–August 1, 2026, David Zwirner, Los Angeles, CA. Curator: Helen Molesworth
Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination, December 14, 2025–July 25, 2026, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
Recognition of Art by Women: In Retrospect, 2026, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL.
2025
Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination, December 14, 2025–July 25, 2026, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
Victoria Miro: 40 Years, June 6–August 1, 2025, Victoria Miro, London, UK.
2024
Pop Forever: Tom Wesselmann & …, October 17, 2024–February 24, 2025, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France.
The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure, November 9, 2024–February 9, 2025, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA. Organized by Ekow Eshun; Philadelphia presentation curated by Erica F. Battle and Yocari De Los Santos.
David Zwirner: 30 Years, May 23–August 3, 2024, David Zwirner, Los Angeles, CA.
Soulscapes, February 14–June 2, 2024, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK. Curated by Lisa Anderson.
The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure, February 22–May 19, 2024, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK. Curated by Ekow Eshun; supporting curator Sarah Howgate.
Capturing the Moment, June 13, 2023–April 28, 2024, Tate Modern, London, UK.
Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog), The Broad, Los Angeles, CA. Curated by Ed Schad. March 7–September 1, 2024.
Multiplicity: Collage in Contemporary America, curated by Kelly Montana.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX. October 27, 2024–March 30, 2025.
The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. June 21–September 21, 2025.
The body in landscape, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London UK
The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure, curated by Ekow Eshun.
National Portrait Gallery, London, UK. February 22–May 19, 2024.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA. November 9, 2024–February 9, 2025.
When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Curated by Koyo Kouoh. May 24–September 7, 2025.
2023
Brave New World, Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle, Netherlands
Capturing the Moment, Tate Modern, London, UK
Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog), The Broad, Los Angeles, CA
God Made My Face, Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, MA. Curated by Hilton Als.
Multiplicity: Collage in Contemporary America, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN
not all realisms: Photography, Africa, and the Long 1960s, Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, IL. Curated by Dr. Leslie M. Wilson.
When We See Us, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa
2022
Rock My Soul II, Galleri Futura, Stockholm, Sweden. Curated by Isaac Julien.
The Story of Art as it’s Still Being Written, Victoria Miro, London, UK
Beyond the Surface: Collage, Mixed Media, and Textile Works from the Collection, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC
Intimacy, Victoria Miro, London, UK
Women Painting Women, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX
Being Human: Contemporary Art from the Rubell Museum, Flint Institute of Art, Flint, MI
A Cool Million, Museum of African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA
I Am Here: Home Movies and Everyday Masterpieces, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Afro-Atlantic Histories, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Lux et Veritas, NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Elegies: Still Lifes in Contemporary Art, Museum of African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA (March 31 – August 21, 2022); Telfair Museum, Savannah, GA (September 16, 2022 – February 19, 2023)
2021
Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s - Now, Tate Britain, London, UK
Black American Portraits, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room from Seneca Village, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Afro-Atlantic Histories, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Picturing Motherhood Now: Images for a New Era, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
e pluribus: Out of Many, National Academy of Design, New York, NY (online)
Summer Exhibition 2021: Reclaiming Magic, Royal Academy of Art, London, UK. Curated by Yinka Shonibare.
On the Basis of Art: 150 Years of Women at Yale, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Diagnosis of Time: Unlearn What You Have Learned, Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Tamale, Ghana
The Worlds We Make: Selections from the ICA Collection, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change, and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40, Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Knowledge of the Past Is the Key to the Future, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Pushing the Margins: A Survey of LA Artists, Galleri Opdahl, Stravanger, Norway. Curated by Charles Gaines.
and I will wear you in my heart of heart, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY
This Is Not Africa—Unlearn What You Have Learned, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark
The Power of My Hands, Musée d’Arte Moderne, Paris, France
Taking Space: Contemporary Women Artists and the Politics of Scale, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Art Finds A Way, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
2020
i’m yours: Encounters with Art in Our Times, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Summer Exhibition 2020, Royal Academy of Art, London, UK. Curated by Isaac Julien.
Biennial of Painting – Inner Spaces, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium
I See You, Victoria Miro, London, UK (online)
Radical Revisionists: Contemporary African Artists Confronting Past and Present, Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University, Houston, TX
2019
May You Live In Interesting Times, 58th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy. Curated by Ralph Rugoff.
I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC
Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA. Curated by Essence Harden and Leigh Raiford.
God Made My Face: A Collective Portrait of James Baldwin, David Zwirner, New York, NY. Curated by Hilton Als.
Dirty Protest: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
There I Belong. Hammershøi by Elmgreen & Dragset, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA (January 16 – April 14, 2019); Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC (May 24 – August 18, 2019); Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, MI (September 13 – December 8, 2019); Smith College Museum of Fine Arts, Northampton, MA (January 17 – April 12, 2020); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (January 23 – April 11, 2021); and Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA (May 22 – August 15, 2021)
Making Knowing: Craft in Art, 1950-2019, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Interiorities, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
2018
Sanguine | Bloedrood. Luc Tuymans on Baroque, Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy
Michael Jackson: On The Wall, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK
We the People: New Art from the Collection, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
In My Room: Artists Paint the Interior 1950-Now, Fralin Museum of Art at The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Give and Take: Highlighting Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Reclamation! Pan-African Works from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
All things Being Equal…, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
People Get Ready: Building A Contemporary Collection, Nasher Museum at Duke University, Durham, NC
African-Print Fashion Now! A Story of Taste, Globalization, and Style, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN
2017
Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp, New Orleans, LA. Curated by Trevor Schoonmaker.
A Good Neighbour, 15th Istanbul Biennial, Pera Museum, Istanbul, Turkey (curated by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset)
Jacob Lawrence, Lines of Influence, Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art, Savannah, GA
Within Genres, Pérez Art Museum, Miami, FL
Taking Pictures: Camera Phone Conversations Between Artists, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Future Generation Art Prize @ Venice 2017, Palazzo Papadopoli, Venice, Italy
Regarding The Figure, Studio Museum Harlem, New York, NY
POWER, Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles, CA
African-Print Fashion Now! A Story of Taste, Globalization, and Style, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
21 Artists Shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize 2017, Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev, Ukraine
2016
The Grand Balcony, La Biennale de Montreal 2017, Musee d’art Contemporain de Montreal, Montreal, QC. Curated by Philippe Pirotte.
NO MAN’S LAND: Women Artists from the Rubell Family Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
Prix Canson 2016 Finalist’s Exhibition, The Drawing Center, New York, NY
Human Interest: Portraits From The Whitney’s Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
KALEIDOSCOPE: A Moment of Grace, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK
Hey You! ~ Who Me? 32 Edgewood Gallery, New Haven, CT. Organized by Robert Storr.
Our Lady, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2015
UNREALISM, The Moore Building, Miami, FL. Presented by Larry Gagosian and Jeffrey Deitch.
Black: Color, Material, Concept, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY. Organized by Lauren Haynes.
NO MAN’S LAND: Women Artists from the Rubell Family Collection, Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation, Miami, FL
Reality of My Surroundings: The Contemporary Collection, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC
Forces in Nature, Victoria Miro Gallery, London. Organized by Hilton Als.
Portraits and Other Likenesses from SFMOMA, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA
Surround Audience, 2015 New Museum Triennial, New Museum, New York, NY. Curated by Lauren Cornell and Ryan Trecartin.
2014
Kings County, Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Summer Shuffle: Contemporary Art @ PAFA Remixed, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Draped Down, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Sound Vision: Contemporary Art from the Collection, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC
Meeting in Brooklyn, Landcommandery of Alden-Biesen, Bilzen, Belgium. Curated by Monica Lenaers.
Shakti, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy
2013
Housewarming, BRIC, Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Elizabeth Ferrer.
Jump Cut, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY
Bronx Calling: The Second AIM Biennial, Bronx Museum, NY
Cinematic Visions, Paintings at the Edge of Reality, Victoria Miro Gallery, London, UK
Exhibition of Works by Newly Elected Members and Recipients of Honors and Awards, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
2012
Primary Sources, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Waiting For The Queen, Diker Gallery, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY
LOST and FOUND: Belief and Doubt in Contemporary Pictures, Museum of New Art, Detroit, MI
Group Show, Clifford Chance US LLP, New York, NY
Configured, Benrimon Contemporary, New York, NY. Curated by Teka Selman.
2011
The Bearden Project, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Collage Perspectives, Swarthmore College List Gallery, Swarthmore, PA
Paperwork, Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY. Curated by Nina Chanel Abney.
Yale MFA Thesis Show, Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
CAA New York Area MFA Exhibition, Hunter College Times Square Gallery, New York, NY
2010
Yale University Class of 2011 Show, Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
2009
Yale University 1st Year Graduate Show, Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
COMMISSIONS
The Obamas: Springing Forth, Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL, 2026. Commissioned by the Obama Foundation.
Dwellers: Native One (mural), A Cool Million, Museum of African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA 2022-ongoing)
Thriving & Potential, Displaced (Again and Again and…), (Inkjet vinyl wallpaper), Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room, The Met, 2021-2023
Before Now After (Billboard Project), Whitney Museum of American Art, May 2016
RESIDENCIES, AWARDS, GRANTS, HONARARY DEGREES
2024
Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA
2021
United States Artists (USA) Fellowship, Chicago, IL
2020
Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Great Immigrants List, New York, NY
Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2019
Honorary Doctorate of Arts, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
Smithsonian African Art Award, Washington, DC
2017
MacArthur Foundation Fellow, Chicago, IL
2016
Financial Times Women of the Year, London, UK
Future Generation Art Prize 2017 Shortlist, Kiev, Ukraine
Prix Canson 2016, France
2015
Foreign Policy’s Leading 100 Global Thinkers of 2015, Washington, DC
Next Generation Prize, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
The Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc. Grant, New York, NY
Art Here and Now (AHAN) Acquisition, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA
2014
The James Dicke Contemporary Artist Prize, Smithsonian Museum, Washington, DC
2013
The Space Program, The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, Brooklyn, NY
Rosenthal Family Foundation Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
International Studio and Curatorial Program, sponsored by the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of the New York Community Trust, New York, NY
Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant, New York, NY
Bronx Museum Artist in the Marketplace program, Bronx, NY
2011
Artist-In-Residence, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Carol Schlosberg Memorial Prize for Excellence in Painting, Yale University, New Haven, CT
MONOGRAPHS
Njideka Akunyili Crosby. New York: David Zwirner Books, 2025.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby: I Refuse to be Invisible, Norton Museum of Art, 2016.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby: Predecessors, Tang / Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, 2019.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby: “The Beautyful Ones”, Victoria Miro, 2019.
Njideka Akunyili: Sam's Space May 2011, Sam's Space, Sam Messer, Yale University, 2011.
SELECTED BOOKS, CATALOGS, AND PUBLICATIONS
2025
Njideka Akunyili Crosby. New York: David Zwirner Books, 2025.
Multiplicity: Collage in Contemporary America. Edited by Kelly Montana. Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Washington, DC: The Phillips Collection, 2025. Exhibition catalog.
When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting. Edited by Koyo Kouoh. Cape Town: Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, 2022; Basel edition distributed in conjunction with the 2025 exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel.
2024
The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure. Edited by Ekow Eshun. London: National Portrait Gallery, 2024. Exhibition catalog.
Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog). Los Angeles: The Broad, 2024. Exhibition catalog.
2023
Capturing the Moment: A Journey Through Painting and Photography. London: Tate Publishing, 2023. Exhibition catalog.
Coming Back to See Through, Again. New York and Los Angeles: David Zwirner, 2023. Exhibition publication produced in conjunction with the artist's solo exhibition inaugurating David Zwirner Los Angeles.
Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast, Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Helen Molesworth, September 13, 2023 (podcast)
The Hilton Als Series: Njideka Akunyili Crosby. San Marino, CA: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, 2023. Exhibition brochure/catalog.
2022
African Art Now, Osei Bonsu, Ilex Press/ Octopus Publishing Group /Chronicle and Tate Britain
Great Women Painters, Phaidon Press
I AM HERE: Home Movies and Everyday Masterpieces, Art Gallery of Ontario, 2022 (catalog)
kinship, National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian) / Hirmer Publishers, 2022 (catalog)
Vitamin C+: Collage in Contemporary Art, Introductory essay by Yuval Etgar with a 500-word text on Njideka's work by Maritza Lacayo, Phaidon Press
When We See Us, Ken Bugul (Senegal), Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia), Robin Coste Lewis (United States) and Bill Kouelany (Republic of Congo), Thames & Hudson and Zeitz MOCAA
Women Artists are More Dangerous, Laure Adler et Camille Viéville, Flammarion Editions
Women Painting Women, Edited with text by Andrea Karnes, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
2021
Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021 (catalog)
Life Between Islands, Tate Britain, 2021 (catalog)
Black American Portraits, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2021 (catalog)
Picturing Motherhood Now: Images for a New Era, Cleveland Museum of Art, 2021 (catalog)
This Is Not Africa—Unlearn What You Have Learned, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, 2021 (catalog)
The Power of My Hands, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, 2021 (catalog)
On the Basis of Art: 150 Years of Women at Yale, Yale University Press, 2021 (catalog)
Hudson, Suzanne. World of Art: Contemporary Painting. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. 2021.
Adesanya, Aderonke A., The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021
2020
Summer Exhibition 2020, Royal Academy, 2020 (catalog)
Godfrey, Tony, “The Story of Contemporary Art,” Thames & Hudson Ltd, August 27, 2020.
Anna Schneider and Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, “Interiorities”, Haus der Kunst 2020 (catalog)
2019
Here we are, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 24 Aug - 13 Oct 2019, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2019 (catalog)
“Great Women Artists,” Phaidon, 2019
“May You Live In Interesting Times”, Biennale Arte 2019 (Catalog)
Mitter, Siddhartha. Njideka Akunyili Crosby: The Beautyful Ones. London: Victoria Miro, 2019. (catalog)
Milbourne Karen, I Am... Contemporary Women Artists of Africa. National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 2019 (catalog)
Hollein, Max. Modern and Contemporary Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019.
Rattemeyer, Christian. Among Other Blackness at Moma. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, 2019.
Berry, Ian. Nijideka Akunyili Crosby: Predecessors. Cincinnati: Tang / Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, 2019.
Deitch, Jeffrey, Unrealism: New Figurative Painting. New York: Rizzoli Electa. 2019
Martin, Herbert. Slow Painting. New York: Hayward Gallery Publishing. 2019.
Hallman, Lee. Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Collection Highlights. Fort Worth: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. 2019.
Choi, Connie H., Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem. Rizzoli Electa, 2019. (catalog)
2018
Schoonmaker, Trevor, Prospect 4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp. Prospect New Orleans and Delmonico Books * Prestel, 2017. (catalog)
Cullinan, Nicholas, Michael Jackson: On The Wall. D.A.P., 2018. (catalog)
Cooper Cafritz, Peggy, Fired Up! Ready to Go!: Finding Beauty, Demanding Equity: An African American Life on Art. The Collections of Peggy Cooper Cafritz. Rizzoli Electa. 2018.
Magnin, Adré and Qotbi, Mehdi. African Lights: A New Contemporary. Casa Blanca and Paris: Laguages Du Sud. 2018.
2017
“The Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look at Art”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Phaidon, London, UK, 2017
Valadez, Juan, “NO MAN'S LAND: Women Artists from the Rubell Family Collection,” Rubell Family Collection, 2016 (catalog)
“A Good Neighbour,” 15th Istanbul Biennial (catalog)
“African-Print Fashion Now! A Story of Taste, Globalization, and Style,” Fowler Museum at UCLA (catalog)
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, “Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions,” HarperCollins, UK, 2017
2016
“Kaleidoscope,” Modern Art Oxford (catalog)
Steiner, Rochelle, “Vitamin P3: New Perspectives In Painting”, Phaidon, London, UK, 2016
Cattelan, Maurizio, and Salah, Myriam Ben, “FAQ,” Fontegrafica, Italy, 2016
Leers, Dan, “Seydou Keita: un innovateur qui a fait ecole,” Galeries Nationales duGrand Palais, Paris, 2016
Brutvan, Cheryl, “Njideka Akuynyili Crosby: I Refuse to be Invisible,” The Norton Museum of Art(catalog)
2015
Mullins, Charlotte, “Picturing People: The New State of the Art,” Thames & Hudson Ltd, London, 2015
Als, Hilton, “Forces in Nature,” London: Victoria Miro Gallery, 2015 (catalog)
Robins, Nicholas, Edited by Cornell, Lauren and Trecartin, Ryan, “New Museum Triennial: Surround Audience,” New Museum, Skira Rizzoli, Feb-May 2015 (catalog)
2014
Cole, Teju, “Kings County,” Stevenson Gallery(catalog)
2013
Brooks, LeRonn P. and McMillan, Uri, “Njideka Akunyili & Simone Leigh: I Always Face You, Even When it Seems Otherwise,” Tiwani Contemporary, 2013 (catalog)
“Cinematic Visions:Painting at the Edge of Reality,” London: Victoria Miro Gallery, 2013 (catalog)
“Bronx Calling: The Second AIM Biennial,” The Bronx Museum (catalog)
Trezzi, Nicola, “Jump Cut,” Marianne Boesky Gallery (catalog)
Merjian, Ara H., Vitamin D2, Phaidon, London, UK. 2013
2012
“The Bearden Project,” The Studio Museum in Harlem (catalog)
Haynes, Lauren, and Oluronke Ojo, Rose, Primary Sources: Artists in Residence 2011-12, The Studio Museum in Harlem, 2012
SELECTED PRESS
2026
Jackson, Lauren Michele. "Inside the First Official Portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama Together."Harper's Bazaar, June 15, 2026.
2025
Onyewuenyi, Ikechúkwú. "Njideka Akunyili Crosby: Endless Returns."Aperture, no. 258, Spring 2025.
2024
Smith, Roberta. "The Time Is Always Now Gives Black Figuration the Space It Deserves."The New York Times, 2024.
Searle, Adrian. "The Time Is Always Now Review – A Thrilling Portrait of Black Life."The Guardian, February 21, 2024.
Washington, Malcolm and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. "Artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Filmmaker Malcolm Washington Excavate the Forces, Both Geopolitical and Familial, That Drive Their Work."Cultured, 2024.
2023
Pogrebin, Robin. "Njideka Akunyili Crosby Wants to Take It Slow, Despite Her Rapid Rise."The New York Times, June 11, 2023.
Molesworth, Helen and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Dialogues: Njideka Akunyili Crosby. The David Zwirner Podcast, September 13, 2023.
2022
Charis, Olivia, “Yale Art Alum Showcased at Yale Center of British Art in Museum First,” Yale Daily News, September 21, 2022.
Brassil, Gillian, “T List: Arresting Paintings by Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” T Magazine, July 20, 2022.
Enuma Okoro, “The Joy of Living Off the Clock,” Financial Times, May 13, 2022.
Sebastian Smee, “Behind This Picture’s Intimacy, A Complex Portrait of the Artist,” Washington Post, May 4, 2022.
Shantay Robinson, “These Artworks Reimagine the Legacy of the African Diaspora,” Smithsonian Magazine, April 11, 2022.
2021
“Life Between Islands: A Tender Portrayal of Caribbean-British Identity,” Week UK, December 17, 2021.
Michelle Duncan, “A New Period Room at the Met Challenges the Whole Idea of Period Rooms,” Metropolis, December 14, 2021.
Lori Waxman, “The Best (And Worst) In Visual Art,” Chicago Tribune, December 12, 2021.
Laura Cummings, “Life Between Islands Review – A Mind-Altering Portrait of British Caribbean Life Through Art,” Guardian, December 5, 2021.
Adrian Searle, “Life Between Islands Review: Displaying the Power and Passion of Caribbean-British Art,” Guardian, November 29, 2021.
Ben Luke, “Life Between Islands at Tate Britain Review: A Captivating Collection of Cracking Caribbean Art,” Evening Standard, November 29, 2021.
Robert Dex, “Windrush Mural at Brixton Tube Station to Star in Tate Show,” Evening Standard, November 29, 2021.
Salamishah Tillet, “Afrofuturist Room at the Met Redresses a Racial Trauma,” New York Times, November 17, 2021.
Darla Migan, “Period Rooms Usually Glorify the Aristocracy. With Its New Afrofuturist Room, the Met’s Approach Is Different,” Artnet, November 15, 2021.
Elie Stenson, “‘Picturing Motherhood Now’ at CMA Reimagines Our Deepest Connections,” Observer, November 12, 2021.
Julie Baumgardner, “The Met Opens an Afrofuturist Period Room Set In Seneca Village,” Cultured Magazine, November 5, 2021.
Scarlet Cheng, “The Forgotten Faces of American Art: LACMA Surveys 200 Years of Black Portraiture,” Art Newspaper, November 5, 2021.
Darcel Rockett, “‘Toward Common Cause’ Exhibit Brings Together U of C’s Smart Museum, MacArthur Foundation Geniuses and Young Chicago Housing Authority Residents,” Chicago Tribune, October 4, 2021.
Mike Cummings, “Exhibition Celebrates Generations of Yale-Trained Women Artists,” Yale News, October 1, 2021.
Lori Waxman, “How Essential is Art? 29 MacArthur ‘Geniuses’ Answer That Question in ‘Toward Common Cause’,” Chicago Tribune, September 24, 2021.
Hannah Silver, “New Art Exhibition Celebrates 150 Years of Women at Yale,” Wallpaper, September 1, 2021.
Ted Loos, “Genius at Work: 29 MacArthur Fellows Show Their Art in Chicago,” New York Times, July 13, 2021.
Megan Voeller, “For ‘Taking Space’ at PAFA, Women Artists Are as Monumental as They Want to Be,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 1, 2021.
“Focus On 20 Contemporary African Artists Including Chéri Samba, Mary Sidanbe, El Anatsui and Myriam Mihindou,” L’Oeil, March 2021.
“Selection of Vogue's Favorites Among Other Highlights in Music, Arts and Culture,” Vogue Netherlands, March 2021.
“United States Artists Announces 2012 USA Fellows,” Artforum, February 23, 2021.
Tessa Solomon, “USA Artist Fellowships Go to Njideka Akunyili Crosby, rafa esparza, Carolyn Lazard, and More,” Art News, February 3, 2021.
Sarah Hegenbart, “Inner Life: The Interior as a Transitional Space of the Agaracha,” Redaktion Kunstchronik 72, no. 2 (2021).
2020
Melanie Gerlis, “Art World Celebrates US Election Results,” Financial Times, November 12, 2020.
Héléne Van der Ven, “Black Art Matters,” Harper’s Bazaar Netherlands, September 1, 2020 and Harper’s Bazaar Japan, January 1, 2021.
Stephan Köhler, “Exhibition Review: Venice Biennale May We Live in Interesting Times Curated by Ralph Rugoff Venice, Italy May 11–November 24, 2019,” African Arts 53, no. 3 (2020): 84-88.
Nick Mafi, “Young Black Artists Speak About the Role of Art in This Moment,” Architectural Digest, June 16, 2020 and Casa Vogue Brazil, October 1, 2020.
Januszczak Waldemar, “Art Review: Do It, Serpentine Gallery; Super Blue Omo, Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Sunday Times, June 14, 2020.
Brian Boucher, “‘It Confirms the Dread I Felt on Election Day’: Artists From Countries Targeted by Trump’s Latest Immigration Ban Speak Out,” Artnet, February 18, 2020.
Claudia Bodin, “Kontakt Zonen,” Art Das Kunstmagazin, no. 1 (2020): 22-33 and front cover.
2019
Madeleine Carlisle, "Time 100 Next: Depicting Life," Time Magazine, November 25, 2019, 58.
Vinson Cunningham, “Past is Present,” New Yorker, November 4, 2019.
Jonathan Fineberg, “ArtSeen: Venice Biennale,” Brooklyn Rail, July – August 2019.
Christin Kay, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Doron Langberg Visit Anderson Ranch, Talk About the Perils of Success,” July 3, 2019, Aspen Public Radio.
George McCalman, “Art, Dance & Big Ideas,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 17, 2019.
Tyler Green, “374: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Bierstadt’s West,” January 3, 2019, The Modern Art Notes Podcast.
2018
Steven Nelson, “Obodo (Country/City/Town/Ancestral Village),” Black One Shot 5.2, ASAP Journal, July 30, 2018.
Tiana Webb Evans, “Folks on Chairs: African American Home Life as Seen Through the Lens of Art,” Pin-Up Magazine, no. 25, Fall Winter 2018/19, 190-192.
Alex Greenberger, “David Zwirner Now Represents Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Art News, November 9, 2018.
“Harper’s Bazaar Unveils Six Covers Featuring Top Female Artists for Bazaar Art,” Harper’s Bazaar UK, October 2, 2018.
“Weaving Stories: Naomi Beckwith and Njideka Akunyili Crosby Take the Stage,” Cultured Magazine, June/July/August 2018, 158-163.
Zoe Whitley, “Black Art: ‘Do-it-Yourself, Do-it-Right-Now,’” Financial Times, April 27, 2018.
Griselda Murray Brown, “Paint the Moment: Why Millennials Are Turning to Oil and Canvas,” Financial Times, April 20, 2018.
Simone White, “Skin or Surface,” Frieze Magazine, no. 194, April 2018, 96-101.
Gina Pollack, “From Nigeria to LA, Painter Njideka Akunyili Crosby Becomes a Star,” February 8, 2018, KCRW’s Press Play with Madeleine Brand, National Public Radio.
Karen Michel, “MacArthur ‘Genius’ Paints Nigerian Childhood Alongside Her American Present,” January 2, 2018, All Things Considered, National Public Radio.
2017
Carolina A. Miranda, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby to Become the Second Artist to Wrap MOCA’s Grand Avenue Building in a Massive Painting,” Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2017.
Kaila Philo, “Newly-Anointed MacArthur ‘Genius’ Njideka Akunyili Crosby Considers Domesticity for the Expatriate,” Baltimore Beat, November 10, 2017.
Deborah Vankin, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby: The Painter in Her MacArthur Moment,” Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2017.
Brian Boucher, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby on the Photo-Collage Paintings That Made Her a MacArthur Genius,” Artnet,October 16, 2017.
Sarah Rose Sharp, “Paintings That Manage to Focus Our Divided Attentions,” Hyperallergic, September 25, 2017.
Diane Solway, “Nigerian Artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby Is Painting the Afropolitan Story in America,” W Magazine, September 2017, 264-269.
“40 Under 40 Global,” Apollo Magazine, September 7, 2017.
Edward Goldman, “Fashion and Food to Die For,” Huffington Post, April 25, 2017.
Henri Neuendorf, “In Los Angeles, Sprüth Magers Celebrates the Artistic Contributions of African American Women,” Artnet, March 31, 2017.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “On Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Facebook, February 17, 2017.
2016
Mario Cloutier, "Deux Artistes Inquiètes Face à l'ère Trump," La Presse, December 28, 2016.
Jason Farago, “The Best American Art of 2016,” Guardian, December 15, 2016.
Jonathan Griffin, “Women of the Year: Njideka Akunyili Crosby On Her Breakthrough Year,” Financial Times, December 7, 2016.
Siobahn Keam, “Portals | Njideka Akunyili Crosby at Victoria Miro Gallery, London,” Art South Africa, December 1, 2016.
Merle Falken, “Our Lady Exhibition Celebrates Female Form,” Art Link,November 12, 2016.
Cassie Davies, “Interview With Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” The White Review, November 2016.
Tess Thackara, “At the Montreal Biennial, Luc Tuymans Presents a Suite of New Paintings,” Artsy, October 28, 2016.
John Pohl, “Visual Arts: The Montreal Biennial Lives Up To The Curator’s Promise,” Montreal Gazette, October 27, 2016.
Kat Herriman, “9 Must-See Artists at la Biennale de Montreal,” Artnet, October 25, 2016.
Manisha Aggarwal-Schifellite, “The Lenny Interview: Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Lenny Letter, October 14, 2016.
Charlotte Jansen, “Portals On The World,” Elephant, no. 28, Autumn 2016, 152-159.
Rebecca Fulleylove, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Collaged Images Offer New Perspective on the ‘African Experience’,” It’s Nice That, October 10, 2016.
Daniel Orubo, “This Artist Uses Her Work to Explore Her Love for Nigeria and Her Life in America,” Konbini, October 9, 2016.
Harriet Baker, “Multifaceted Collage of Cultures,” Financial Times, October 7, 2016.
Gloria Cardona, “This Female Artist is Challenging Notions of the African Experience,” Sleek Magazine, October 4, 2016.
Sophie Heawood, “The Nigerian Artist Who Is Exploding the Myth of the ‘Authentic African Experience’,” Guardian, October 4, 2016.
Charlotte Jansen, “In Massive Paintings, Njideka Akunyili Crosby Pushes Post-Colonial Narratives Forward,” Artsy, October 3, 2016.
Erica Ando, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Bomb Magazine, no. 137, Fall 2016, 44-54.
Tim Walker, “Intricate Lives,” Vogue UK, October 2016, 278-283 and 316.
Scott Reyburn, “Managing One African-American Artist’s Career,” Economist, September 24, 2016.
Imelda Barnard, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby at Victoria Miro,” Apollo Magazine, September 24, 2016.
Dodie Kazanjian, “Up Close and Personal,” Vogue US, September 2016, 730-733.
Michael Slenske, “L.A. Women: Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Cultured Magazine, September 19, 2016
Scott Reyburn, “Rumblings in the Auction World,” New York Times, August 5, 2016.
Tom Seymour, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby Given First European Exhibition in London,” British Journal of Photography, July 27, 2016.
Romeo Alaeff, “The Drawing Center/Le Prix Canson – 2016,” Lines and Marks, June 27, 2016.
Charlotte Jansen, “Interiors and Interiority: Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Contemporary Art Review LA, no. 4, 2016, 31-34.
“Njideka Akunyili Crosby Awarded 2016 Prix Canson Prize for Art on Paper,” Artforum, June 22, 2016.
“Whitney Museum, ‘Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection’,” Goings On About Town, New Yorker, June 20, 2016, 14.
Scott Reyburn, “Art Basel: Barometer of this Year’s High-End Art Market,” New York Times, June 17, 2016.
Miranda Reilly, “Review: KALEIDOSCOPE: A Moment of Grace,” Oxford Student, May 19, 2016.
Ryan Steadman, “The Complicated Beauty of Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Observer, May 5, 2016.
Jori Finkel, “New SFMOMA Aims to Be Not Just Giant, but Global,” New York Times, April 29, 2016.
“David Shrigley and Lucy Skaer Among Finalists for Work on Paper,” BBC, April 27, 2016.
“Gustav Metzger, Yoko Ono, David Maljkovic – Among Artists at Modern Art Oxford,” Artlyst, April 19, 2016.
Fan Zhong, “Go Figure! An Unfashionable Art Trend Makes a Comeback,” W Magazine, April 15, 2016.
Diane Solway, “Art: Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” W Magazine, April 2016, 60.
“Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Extra Extra: Nouveau Magazine Erotique, no. 6, 2016, 130-137.
Liz Brown, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Elle Décor Magazine, no. 223, March 2016, 76-78.
Rain Embuscado, “10 Black Artists to Celebrate in 2016,” Artnet, February 13, 2016.
Jan Sjostrom, “Nigerian-born Artist Explores Expatriate Identity at Norton Museum,” Palm Beach Daily News, January 30, 2016.
“Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Christie’s International Real Estate Magazine, January-March 2016, 258.
2015
Carolina Miranda, “We Asked Some Art Work Luminaries to Pick the Best & Worst of 2015,” Hyperallergic, December 28, 2015.
Victoria L. Valentine, “The Year in Black Art: April 2015,” Culture Type, December 27, 2015.
Robin Cembalest, “Take In Some Culture at New York City’s Lesser-Known Exhibits,” Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2015.
Catherine Wagley, “5 Art Shows You Should See In L.A. This Week,” LA Weekly, December 9, 2015.
Simone Krug, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Hammer Museum,” Art in America, December 2015, 144-145.
Jason Farago, “No Man’s Land Review – Miami’s Art Basil Week Kicks off With All-Female Show,” Guardian, December 2, 2015.
Stephen Wallis, “On The Rise,” Architectural Digest, December 2015, 62.
“Njideka Akunyili Crosby: For Collaging The Immigrant Experience,” Foreign Policy Magazine, Nov/Dec 2015, 67.
Akinwunmi Ibrahim, “A Wein Prize for Akunyili,” This Day Live, November 29, 2015.
Gareth Harris, “Collaboration: ‘Unrealism’ Could be The Next New Thing,” Financial Times, November 27, 2015.
Charlotte Jansen, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Intimate Tableaus Echo Her Transnational World,” Wallpaper, November 23, 2015.
Kate Sutton, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Frieze, November 5, 2015.
Jean-Philippe Dedieu, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Intimate Universes,” New Yorker, November 5, 2015.
Jason Farago, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Even Magazine, no. 2, Fall 2015, 97-98.
Miss Rosen, “Exhibit | Hammer Projects: Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Crave Online, October 31, 2015.
Victoria L. Valentine, “Studio Museum Awards 2015 Wein Artist Prize to Njideka Akunyili Crosby,” Culture Type, October 28, 2015.
“Njideka Akunyili Crosby Wins Studio Museum in Harlem’s Wein Prize,” Artforum, October 27, 2015.
Randy Kennedy, “Wein Prize Is Awarded to a Nigerian-born Artist,” New York Times, October 26, 2015.
Julie Belcove, "Interview: US Critic and Author Hilton Als," Financial Times, October 2, 2015.
Andrew Russeth, "Trans-Everything: Njideka Akunyili Crosby Mounts Two Shows in Los Angeles," Art News, September 29, 2015.
Sylvia Sukop, "Art Speaks and She Listens: An Interview With Curator Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins," Huffington Post, September 23, 2015.
Victoria L. Valentine, "Mark Bradford's Art + Practice Is on a Mission to Change Lives," Culture Type, September 20, 2015.
Priscilla Frank and Katherine Brooks, "28 Art Shows You Need To See This Fall," Huffington Post, September 1, 2015.
Jan Sjostrom, "Norton Museum Season Highlights Israel, O'Keeffe, Mark and Crosby," Palm Beach Daily News, August 22, 2015.
Carolina A. Miranda, “Black Women Artists in L.A. Museums: Good News at Hammer, but Representation Remains Weak,” Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2015.
Dani Burlison, “Amid Racially-Charged Violence, Art from African Diaspora Hits Home in ‘Portraits,’” KQED Arts, June 9, 2015.
Sura Wood, “Portraying Lives of the African Diaspora,” Bay Area Reporter, May 14, 2015.
Sue Scott, “2015 Triennial: Surround Audience,” Brooklyn Rail, May 6, 2015.
Patrick McGroarty, “Africans Turn to Local Art: Five Artists to Watch,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2015.
Ariella Budick, “2015 Triennial: Surround Audience, New Museum, New York – Review,” Financial Times, March 10, 2015.
Christian Viveros-Fauné, “The New Museum’s ‘Surround Audience’ Delivers the Same Old Same Old,” Village Voice, March 4, 2015.
Alex Greenberger, “‘Surround’ Exhibit Confuses, Intrigues,” Washington Square News, March 3, 2015.
Holland Cotter, “Casting a Wary Eye on the Future,” New York Times, February 27, 2015.
Paige K. Bradley, “The Great Escape,” Artforum, February 26, 2015.
Paddy Johnson and Corinna Kirsch, “Notes on the 2015 Triennial: Surround Audience,” Art F City, February 26, 2015.
Brienne Walsh, “The 2015 New Museum Triennial: Not So Charmed,” Christie’s, February 26, 2015.
Andrew Russeth, “The 2015 New Museum Triennial is a Pointed, Bracing Survey of Now,” Art News, February 25, 2015.
Adam Lehrer, “Six Pieces That Stuck Out at the New Museum’s Triennial,” Forbes, February 25, 2015.
Charlotte Burns, “New Museum’s Generational Triennial: Wired for the Future,” Guardian, February 25, 2015.
Benjamin Sutton, “The New Museum Triennial Surrounds the Audience with Too Much Art,” Hyperallergic, February 24, 2015.
Andrew M. Goldstein, “A Theoretical Cheat Sheet to the New Museum Triennial,” Art Space, February 22, 2015.
Athi Mongezeleli Joja, “Infinite Possibilities: Interview with Njideka Akunyili,” Contemporary And, January 5, 2015.
2014
Charlotte Burns and Anny Shaw, “Seek and Ye Shall Find,” Art Basel Miami Beach Daily Edition, Art Newspaper, December 6, 2014.
Kirstin Fawcett, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Intimate Work Straddles Mediums and Oceans,” Smithsonian Magazine, December 1, 2014.
Dan Duray, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby Wins Smithsonian American Art Museum’s 2014 James Dicke Prize,” Art News, November 25, 2014.
Peggy McGlone, “Painter Njideka Akunyili Crosby Wins $25,000 American Art Museum Prize,” Washington Post, November 25, 2014.
Sam Umukoro, “Njideka Akunyili Crosby - Chimamanda of the Art World?” Vanguard, November 9, 2014.
Daniel Scheffler, “Brooklyn Inspires African Artists,” New York Times, October 14, 2014.
Thomas B. Cole, “‘The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born’ Might Not Hold True For Much Longer,” JAMA 312, no. 7 (2014): 680-681.
Sebastian Smee, "Many Techniques, Much to Ponder, in 'Rest of Her Remains'," Boston Globe, March 4, 2014.
Amandas Ong, “Showcase: Njideka Akunyili,” Elephant, no. 17, Winter 2013-14, 20-25.
2013
Jose Villarreal, “Jump Cut: Marianne Boesky Opens Five Individual Exhibitions,” Art Daily, September 12, 2013.
Daisy Wyatt, “Things Fall into Two Parts: Artist Njideka Akunyili Tells a New Nigerian Story,” Independent, October 17, 2013.
Mary Abbe, “Do Believe the Hype,” Star Tribune, June 28, 2013.
Jillian Steinhauer, “Getting an International Glimpse at Open Studios,” Hyperallergic, April 30, 2013.
Annette Rose-Shapiro, "Feast for the Eyes," Art News, February 20, 2013.
Belinda Otas, “The Ones to Get to Know in 2013,” New African Woman, no. 18, February/March 2013, 66.
2012
Catriona Davies, “Artist Joins Nigeria’s ‘Cultural Explosion,’” Inside Africa, CNN, October 23, 2012.
Larry Ossei-Mensah, “Collage Graduate,” Arise Magazine, no. 17, 2012.
Alex Fialho, “‘Primary Sources’ at the Studio Museum in Harlem,” Art Fag City, October 17, 2012.
Holland Cotter, “Primary Sources,” New York Times, July 20, 2012.
Bobby Elliott, "Primary Sources, The Studio Museum's Annual Artists in Residence Exhibition," Huffington Post, June 17, 2012.
Meleko Mokgosi and Xaviera Simmons, “In the Studio With the 2011-12 Artists in Residence,” Studio Magazine, Summer/Fall 2012, 12-15 and front cover.
Benjamin Sutton and Bill Fine, "Tilton Gallery Sells Out Art Basel Booth of Njideka Akunyili Collages in Half an Hour," Artinfo, June 18, 2012.
Caroline Copley, "Art Basel Tests Buyers' Instincts in Time of Crisis," Reuters, June 13, 2012.
Rozalia Jovanovic, "Jonathan Safran Foer Co-Curates Retrospective Exhibition of Fictional Painter," Gallerist NY, June 13, 2012.
Colin Darke, "Found: Compelling New Art Center in Detroit (Introduction to Passenger)," Huffington Post, April 30, 2012.
2011
Paul Smith, “Uptown Celebrates 100 Years of Bearden, Harlem’s True Renaissance Man,” Uptowner, December 15, 2011.
Holland Cotter, “A Griot for a Global Village,” New York Times, December 8, 2011.
Bobby Elliott, “The Bearden Project: A Family Affair,” Huffington Post, December 7, 2011.
Edith Newhall, “Painterly Collages,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 27, 2011.
“MFA Annual 2011,” New American Paintings, no. 93, 2011, 24-27.
Steven Zevitas, “Tomorrow’s Art Stars Today: New American Paintings Presents the MFA Annual,” Huffington Post, April 18, 2011.
2010
Katherine McComic, “The Study of Art,” Yale Daily News, October 12, 2010.
2008
Tina Tammaro, “Turning Students into Artists at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,” American Artist Magazine - Drawing, Spring 2008.
TEACHING
2019
Visiting Co-Instructor with Doron Langberg, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO
2018
Visiting Instructor, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Visiting Faculty, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA (Painting)
2015
Visiting Faculty, Practicum Session, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA (Painting)
2012
Visiting Instructor of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD (Senior Thesis)
2011
Visiting Assistant Professor of Studio Art, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA (Life Drawing)
Teaching Assistant to Robert Reed, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT (Introductory Painting)
2010
Teaching Assistant to Robert Reed, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT (Basic Drawing)
ARTIST LECTURES
2026
Conversations: Kerry James Marshall, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK, September 2025 / January 2026 exhibition program. Invited speaker in conjunction with Kerry James Marshall: The Histories.
2025
Stanford Art Department Studio Lecture Series, Stanford, CA, October 9-10, 2025
2024
Commencement Speaker, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA, May 12, 2024
2023
Mandy and Cliff Einstein Visiting Artist Lecture Series: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA, March 1.
Artist Talk, The Hackley School, Tarrytown, NY, March 7.
Dialogues: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, conversation with Helen Molesworth, David Zwirner Gallery, July 20, 2023.
2022
Artist Talk – Njideka Akunyili Crosby & Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX, Oct 5.
2021
at home: Artists in Conversation | with Courtney J. Martin, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, June 16.
Scholl Lecture Series with Franklin Sirmans, Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL, April 6.
Conversation with Alexandro Segade, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, March 18.
Racial Justice Series SwatTalk with Dr. Khadijah Costley White ’04, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, Feb 17.
2020
“The Wrap Up,” Art X Review, conversation with Temitayo Ogunbiyi, ART X Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria, Dec 6.
Artists On The Future: Conversation with Thelma Golden, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, Nov 16.
2020 Betty Jean and Wayne Thiebaud Endowed Lecture, University of California, Davis, CA, Nov 12.
Russell Lecture in association with MSCAD, University of California, San Diego, CA, Nov 4.
Artist Lecture, Purchase College State University of New York, New York, NY, Oct 21.
Conversation with Jordan Carter, Society for Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL, Oct 15.
New Social Environment, conversation with Jason Rosenfeld, The Brooklyn Rail, Brooklyn, NY, June 11.
Penny Stamps Speaker Series with Christina Olsen, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI April 9.
Artist Conversation with Jason Kaufman, Allbritton Art Institute, Baylor University, Waco, TX, Feb 19.
2019
Master Artist Series, California School of the Arts, San Gabriel Valley, Duarte, CA, Nov 8.
Artist Talk in conversation with Siddhartha Mitter, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, Sep 8.
Artist Talk | Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem with Lyle Asthon Harris and Leigh Raiford, Museum of African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA, Jan 31.
2018
Visiting Artist Program Lecture, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Nov 9.
“The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity,” ALOUD, conversation with Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah and Erin Christovale, Central Library, Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA, Oct 25.
“At the Intersection of Cultures, as Experienced Individually,” Visualizing Identity, panelist with Dawoud Bey,
MacArthur Fellows Gathering, Wingspread Retreat, Wind Point, WI, Oct 13.
Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Texas, Austin, TX, Oct 3.
Summer Series: Featured Artists & Conversations with Naomi Beckwith, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO, July 26.
Artists Talk: A Conversation with L.A. Artists, with Charles Gaines and Anne Ellegood, The Broad Stage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Santa Monica, CA, May 21.
Commons Visiting Lecture Series, Episcopal School of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, Feb 27.
Artist Lecture, Museum of Contemporary Art Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, Feb 4.
Artist Lecture, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Oct 10.
2017
Artist Lecture, University of Southern California, Roski School of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA, Nov 28.
Gallery Talk with Filipa Oliveira, Prospect.4 New Orleans: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA, Nov 18.
The Collector’s Series Art X Talk with Temitayo Ogunbiyi, ART X Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria, Nov 5.
Artist Talk with Kristen Hileman, Baltimore Museum of Art and Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, Oct 25.
Opener Conversation with Ian Berry and Julia Jacquette, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, Oct 21.
Artist Talk, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH, July 14.
Visiting Artist Lecture and Graduate Studio Visits, California State University, Long Beach, CA, May 2.
Eric Fischl Lecture Series, Student Art Reviews and Workshop, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ, April 19.
“Intersections,” seminar conversation with Jodi Roberts and Catherine Hale, Stanford University and Cantor Arts Center, Stanford, CA, April 13.
Graduate Art Seminar Lecture, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA, Feb 21.
2016
NoonTime Artist Talk, Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA, Nov 1.
Visiting Artist Lecture, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT, Oct 18.
Tate Modern Talk with Zoe Whitley, Tate Modern, London, UK, Sep 29.
Art | Race | Activism Artist Lecture, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, April 5.
Artist Talk, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, Mar 21.
Conversation with Cheryl Brutvan, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL, Jan 27.
2015
Seminar Conversation with Jamillah James, ArtTable, Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA.
Contemporaries Artist Talk, Whitney Museum of American Art hosted by NeueHouse, New York, NY, Nov 3.
In Conversation: Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Akosua Adoma Owusu with Jamillah James, Art + Practice in collaboration with Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, Sep 24.
Artist Lecture, Graduate Fine Arts Lecture Series, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA.
“Visual Constructions of the Diaspora: Artist Lectures and Discussion,” Migration, Culture and Memory, panelist with Walterio Iraheta moderated by Beatriz Cortez, California State University, Northridge, CA, Mar 25
Artist Lecture, Visiting Artists & Critics Program, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, Feb 26
Artist Talk, Practicum Lecture Series, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA.
2014
“Something Torn and New: A Conversation with Njideka Akunyili,” Studies in Contemporary Africa, seminar speaker, Columbia University, New York, NY, April 8.
Artist Lecture, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT.
2013
“Target First Saturday to Celebrate Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey,” artist lecture, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, Dec 7.
“Art Talk: Presentation and Panel,” Get Your Art On! panelist, the Association of Yale Alumni, Art Basel, Miami, FL Dec 6.
Visiting Artist Speaker Series, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.
Guest Artist Lecture, Career Day: Drawing/Painting/Printmaking, Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University, Grand Rapids, MI.
Artist Lecture, 1040 Lounge, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY.
“Njideka Akunyili: Something Torn and Broken,” Yale University, New Haven, CT.
2012
Artist Lecture, The Artist’s Voice: Artists In Residence 2011-2012, Studio Museum Harlem, New York, NY.
Guest Artist, The Museum of Contemporary African Art (MoCADA)’s Visiting Artist Conversation Series (VACS), Benjamin Banneker Academy Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY.
Artist Lecture, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA.
Visiting Artist at Noon, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD.
INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY
Chanel Art Foundation, Paris, France
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
Glenstone Museum, Washington DC, MD
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Hammer Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth, TX
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
National Museum, Oslo, Norway
National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL
Pinault Collection, Paris, France
Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Smithsonian National Museum of African Arts, Washington, DC
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Statens Museum fur Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
Tate Modern, London, UK
The Broad Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
The Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2018- Present Artist Council Member, Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center
2019 National Academician, National Academy of Design
2020- 2025 Member, MOCA Environmental Justice Council
2022- Present Foundation Advisor, G.A.S. Yinka Shonibare Foundation