Bayo Oluwasanmi

Bayo Oluwasanmi
Name	Bayo Oluwasanmi
Birth date	1980s
Birth place	Lagos, Nigeria
Occupation	Scholar; Activist; Curator
Alma mater	University of Ibadan; University of Oxford
Known for	Urban studies; Postcolonial archives; Curatorial practice

Bayo Oluwasanmi is a Nigerian-born scholar, curator, and public intellectual whose work bridges urban studies, postcolonial theory, and material culture. Trained in Nigerian and British institutions, he has produced influential writing and exhibitions that connect Lagosian spatial histories with transnational archives and diasporic networks. Oluwasanmi’s projects frequently engage with museum studies, architectural history, and curatorial praxis to interrogate colonial legacies and contemporary urban transformation.

Early life and education

Born in Lagos during the late 20th century, Oluwasanmi grew up amid rapid urban change and the cultural vibrancy of Lagos Island, Victoria Island, and Ikoyi. His secondary schooling involved institutions linked to Lagos civic life and led to studies in history and architecture at the University of Ibadan, where he encountered scholarship by figures associated with Institute of African Studies and debates connected to Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe. A Rhodes Scholarship candidacy led him to postgraduate study at the University of Oxford, where he engaged with archives at the Bodleian Library, participated in seminars at All Souls College, and worked with curatorial staff at the Ashmolean Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum on material culture projects. During this period Oluwasanmi interacted with scholars from SOAS University of London, King's College London, and the London School of Economics who were active in postcolonial and urban research networks.

Career

Oluwasanmi’s early career combined academic appointments and curatorial roles. He held fellowships at the Centre for Contemporary Culture and collaborative posts with the British Museum and regional institutions across West Africa and Europe. His appointments included a lectureship allied to the School of Oriental and African Studies and visiting roles at the University of Cape Town and the University of California, Berkeley. He directed interdisciplinary projects funded by foundations connected to the Ford Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, coordinating teams drawn from institutions such as the National Museum Lagos, the Tate Modern, and the Stedelijk Museum. Oluwasanmi curated exhibitions that toured between galleries like the Serpentine Galleries, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and regional venues in Accra and Dakar while teaching seminars that linked methods from Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago.

His public-facing roles extended to policy advising with municipal bodies in Lagos State and partnership initiatives with organizations including UN-Habitat, African Union Commission, and nongovernmental groups such as Creative Africa. He has been a keynote speaker at conferences organized by Royal Anthropological Institute, International Union of Architects, and the Global Urban Humanities Network.

Major works and contributions

Oluwasanmi’s scholarship centers on colonial urban planning, archives of displacement, and curatorial activism. His monograph on Lagos urbanity draws on archival records from the National Archives (United Kingdom), oral histories linked to the Ake Festival, and photographic collections from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, connecting local narratives with diasporic trajectories involving Caribbean and Brazilian communities. He has published articles in journals affiliated with Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and editorial projects involving the Routledge urban studies series.

Curatorially, Oluwasanmi developed thematic frameworks that reposition objects from collections at the Museum of London Docklands, the Liverpool Maritime Museum, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art within stories of trade, migration, and resistance. He led collaborative exhibitions that mapped Lagosian soundscapes with partners including British Council, Red Bull Music Academy, and the International Centre for Jazz Research. His work on decolonizing collection practices informed policy shifts at institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Library, contributing to dialogues also pursued by contemporaries from Zainab Bahrani to Kwame Anthony Appiah.

Oluwasanmi has contributed to digital humanities initiatives that archived maps and plans from the Royal Geographical Society and created open-access platforms in partnership with JSTOR-linked projects, the Digital Public Library of America, and university presses at Princeton University.

Awards and recognition

Oluwasanmi received fellowships and prizes from prominent institutions: an early-career award from the Mellon Foundation; a mid-career fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; and honors from the African Studies Association and the International Council of Museums (ICOM). His exhibitions were shortlisted for awards administered by the Art Fund and recognized by the British Council's cultural diplomacy programs. Municipal citations from the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and an honorary fellowship from the University of Ibadan acknowledged his contributions to urban cultural heritage.

Personal life and legacy

Oluwasanmi maintains connections across transnational academic and artistic networks, collaborating with practitioners from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, France, and the United States. He has mentored emerging curators linked to programs at Goldsmiths, University of London and the Royal College of Art, and his students have gone on to roles at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Research Institute, and national museums across Africa. His legacy emphasizes reparative approaches to collections and civic engagement in urban futures, influencing policy dialogues at the World Urban Forum and curatorial curricula at institutions like the Courtauld Institute of Art.

Category:Nigerian curators Category:Nigerian academics