Alumni Profile: Azeezat Adeyoyin Oyawoye

Azeezat Oyawoye

Azeezat Adeyoyin Oyawoye

BSc Science & Business ’21
Project Manager at Huge Inc. | Visual Artist & Illustrator, Àbíké The Artist
Waterloo, ON

Azeezat moved from Nigeria in 2016 with the goal of exploring her interests in science, business, and art. It's been a challenging but rewarding journey and since graduating from the University of Waterloo, she has established herself as a visual artist under the name Àbíkẹ́ The Artist while working as a project manager at Huge, a creative consulting agency with various clients including McDonald's, Google, Pantone and Lego.

As a visual artist, she creates vibrant art inspired by her Yoruba cultural heritage, through a contemporary lens. Her work depicts Black women and Orí, which translates to “head” in Yoruba but also refers to one's essence and purpose. She reimagines Orí as otherworldly beings that embody the soul. Her work also celebrates distinct African features such as thick hair, full lips, and broad noses.

Azeezat’s ultimate goal is to preserve her cultural history by telling Afro-infused visual stories on an amplified scale. Her 2023 collaboration with Raptors 905, featuring her signature Orí, is a reflection of this goal.