By Henry Akubuiro
For years, David Olatoye has built a quiet but impactful online curatorial space, where young emerging artists are seen, celebrated, and collected, from Instagram stories to direct messages. He has bridged creators and collectors, not as a gallerist, but as someone who believes in the beauty of growth, community, and support; having benefited from it himself.
The artist is taking it a space further with a physical presence, aligning with the marking of his 30th birthday at the Oluwole Omofemi gallery, curated by Frances Akinkuoye and assisted by Sandra Doyinsola. Featuring seven artists – Adebayo Kehinde, Ademola Ajayi, Ayomide Okanlawon, Oluwatoyin Olugunloluwa, Oluwatobiloba Faselejo, Samson Olatunbosun, and Vivian Chintua.
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The exibition, a testament to David Olatoye’s commitment to supporting emerging artists, opens on July 30, 2025. “I’ll be showcasing around 28 to 30 works that celebrates process, presence, and community,” said Olatoye. Themed One Dream at a Time, it is akin to one step at a time idiomatically, reflecting Olatoye’s artistic benevolence and his everyday philosophy as a dreamer boy – to live freely, create with joy, and move with intention.
He said, “As I turn 30, it felt only right to translate that digital community into something tangible. Bringing this community into a physical setting means we get to see each other beyond the screen, we get to feel the textures, hear the laughter, see the expressions. It becomes more about connection. This show is my way of saying ‘thank you’ to the artists who’ve trusted me to share their work, and to everyone who’s followed, supported, and engaged. This is for all of us and an affirmation.”
According to the curator, Frances O. Akinkuoye, this exhibition is about showing process, growth and presence. It gathers a selection of works from artists whose practices mirror the same grounded spirit: deliberate, evolving, and present. Each artwork becomes part of a collective reflection on time, process and purpose. By bringing this show to life, David intends to create a living archive – not built in a rush but with patience and care. It celebrates what we can achieve when we respect the time it takes to build support and community.
Olatoye added: “One Dream at a Time is a reference to a body of work I dedicated to my 26th birthday, which centered around familyhood and the stories that shaped me, and, with it, I’m marking a shift revisiting this title at 30. This is a reminder to be present, to honour each phase, each small win, and each moment of stillness. It’s about giving every dream the attention and care it deserves rather than rushing through them all in pursuit of some perfect ending.
Thus, this mindset has allowed the artist to show up with more intention, to build more meaningful relationships, and to sustain his practice without burning out, Also, he has learned to embrace the steady pace of becoming. His online platform has quietly amplified the voices of many young artists. Olatoye said he had always believed that visibility was powerful, especially in a world where young emerging artists often struggled to find platforms that take them seriously.
“My audience and visibility on Instagram felt like an accessible space where I could share not just my work but also support young artists not as charity but an investment for the future of art. What motivated me was a sense of responsibility:I know how much it meant when someone first gave me a chance and acknowledged my work publicly. What’s kept me consistent is the belief that we rise by lifting others,” he told Daily Sun.
The Ogun State born contemporary artist lives and works in Ibadan. He creates stylised portraits with a fine palette and ultra-modern edge in his chosen media of acrylic, pen, fabric and collage, exploring the concepts of reconstructed and idealized domestic scenes through a critical lens that examines his own somewhat sweet-ugly childhood experiences and the expectations of life in a traditional or foreign space.
A highly collectable contemporary artist and a visual creative with a penchant for the written word, Otatoye’s star has risen sharply since he launched his career professionally in 2020 after his Rele Young Contemporary programme and completing his Bachelor of Fine Art degree at the highly regarded Obafemi Awolowo University in Ondo, Nigeria.
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