Ekene Emeka-Maduka Nigeria, b. 1996

Ekene Emeka-Maduka (b. 1996) is a Nigerian artist based in Winnipeg whose interdisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture, film, and community-based projects. Drawing from personal memories and lived experiences of migration, her

work explores questions of identity, belonging, psychological fragmentation, and collective memory, often in relation to broader historical and social narratives. 

Maduka received her BFA Honours from the University of Manitoba. Her work has been exhibited and screened internationally, and is held in the permanent collection of Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL). 

In 2017, she received an artist start-up grant from Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys’ Dean Collection. Her first solo presentation debuted at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, where her work was selected by Christie's for a special extension of the fair.

In 2021, she participated in Self-Addressed, a landmark exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch curated by Kehinde Wiley. Two years later, she was one of five North American artists selected for the STAGES Biennial by Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, where she developed Nri for Thought: Languages of Love Personified, a large-scale public art project centred around a ten-foot geodesic dome that hosted workshops, a bursary

programme, and a community garden for newcomer immigrants and Indigenous youth.

 In 2024, she received the Royal Bank of Canada ON THE RISE Award, presented by the Winnipeg Arts Council,  recognizing the promise of an emerging professional artist.