Akintobi’s decade-long art journey leads to patent

Contemporary artist, Akintayo Akintobi, has marked a significant milestone in his decade-long artistic career with the acquisition of a Nigerian patent for a cross-cultural, textile-integrated visual art system.

The patent, titled, “A Cross-Cultural Textile-Integrated Visual Art Creation and Community Engagement System for Narrative-Based Artistic Expression,” was filed on May 1, 2026, with Akintobi identified as the patentee.

The patent grants rights over the invention for a 20-year term, subject to the provisions of Nigerian law.

The development comes about a decade after Akintobi began exhibiting his works prominently in Ile-Ife, Osun State, and reflects the evolution of a practice that has explored culture, identity, memory and human connection through textiles, painting, mixed media, public art and community engagement.

A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Akintobi obtained a Bachelor of Education in Fine Arts in 2016. He began exhibiting while still a student, participating in “Ifectivity” at the university between 2013 and 2015 before presenting his final year exhibition titled “So Far” in 2016.

He also participated in collaborative public art projects, including a mural at the OAU Staff School.

By 2018, Akintobi’s work had attracted wider attention following his participation in Tales from Within at the National Museum of Art, Onikan, Lagos. The exhibition and his work were subsequently reported by reputable media organisations across the country.

His artistic practice increasingly incorporated Yoruba traditional symbols, cultural narratives and textiles, which later became defining elements of his visual language.

In 2023, his use of fabrics in exploring African art narratives received further attention from Nigerian media, with The Guardian, Vanguard, New Telegraph, Tribune and The Nation reporting his new artistic approach in his solo exhibition at the South Rivers Art Studios titled “The End of the Beginning”.

Akintobi’s career took a new turn after he relocated to the United States and enrolled at East Tennessee State University, where he obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art in 2024.

His American experience subsequently influenced a body of work that examined the connections between his Yoruba heritage and Appalachian experiences.

The exploration culminated in T(h)reading Sands and Mountains, which was presented as his MFA thesis exhibition at ETSU’s Tipton Gallery in 2024 and later at Mars Landing Galleries.

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Beyond gallery exhibitions, Akintobi has also established a presence in public art, creating large-scale murals and installations.

His projects include participating in the 23-by-54-foot Peace Global Crane Project at East Tennessee State University, murals in Lemmon, South Dakota, and large-scale works in Atlanta, including Snake and Snake II.

His American exhibition record also includes Holla If You See Me: Black Appalachia at the Kansas African American Museum in Wichita, Kansas; Con-Figurations: The Human Body is Complex, Even Contradictory at the Panorama Gallery, William King Museum in Abingdon, Virginia; Tanasi: Black Tennesseans in Appalachia at the Paul V. Hamilton Center for the Arts in Tennessee; and End of the Beginning at South River Art Studios in Atlanta.

In 2026, he presented Surface, Spirit and Sand, a solo exhibition with the Tennessee Arts Commission in Nashville, Tennessee.

Akintobi has also received a Global Iconic Award as an Emerging Global Icon in Fine Arts which was held in South Africa and a Certificate of Excellence from East Tennessee State University in 2024.

In addition to his artistic practice, he has served as an Adjunct Professor and Assistant Curator at East Tennessee State University.

The newly granted patent represents another phase of Akintobi’s development, moving an aspect of his artistic practice beyond conventional exhibition and into a formally protected system.

Before filing the patent, he had discussed the system at conferences and exhibitions. The invention brings together textile-integrated art, narrative-based artistic expression and community engagement.

Ten years after his early exhibitions in Ile-Ife, Akintobi’s career now spans Nigerian museums and galleries, American exhibition spaces and public art projects.

His work continues to draw on Yoruba heritage while engaging with new cultural environments, particularly his experiences in Appalachia.

The patent, he said, represents the latest stage in an artistic journey that began with an exploration of materials, cultural identity and visual storytelling and has evolved into a defined system connecting art, narrative and community.