Upcycle Redefined — Art Residency
2021 · Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Nigeria
A month-long artist residency and public exhibition exploring the transformation of waste materials into fine art, held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Upcycle Redefined was a pivotal moment in Ife's artistic development — a dedicated period of studio research and making that culminated in a public exhibition at one of Abuja's most prominent venues.
The residency provided the space and time to push the work further: to experiment with new materials, scales, and techniques, and to develop a body of work that made a clear artistic argument about the value and beauty of discarded things.
The exhibition that followed drew a wide audience of collectors, creatives, and curious visitors — many of whom had never considered sustainability as an artistic position before. Conversations sparked by the work extended well beyond the gallery walls.
The pieces created during this residency form a significant part of Ife's portfolio and continue to inform her practice today.
Upcycle Redefined made me rethink what a material can become. Ife's work is not about sustainability as limitation — it is about sustainability as imagination.— Exhibition visitor, Abuja
