Laolu Senbanjo gave a TED Talk at the TED2017 Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, CA in April 2017. His talk, “Sacred Art of the Ori” is now on TED.com His talk shares his experience and making a life-altering decision to give up his profession as Human Rights Lawyer to chase his dream of doing Art full time. In his talk he talks about this path and how he found his mantra, “Everything is my Canvas” and how he started his Performance Art the Sacred Art of the Ori and how he had the opportunity to work with Beyonce. Laolu discusses the importance of the necessary shift in African culture on weighing importance and respect in the Arts and valuing its culture.
Laolu NYC is a Brooklyn based Nigerian born Performance and Visual Artist, Singer/Songwriter/Musician, Human Rights Lawyer and Activist who’s mantra is “everything is my canvas.” His Sacred Art of the Ori Yoruba body paint ritual (which he created) was featured on Beyonce’s Grammy award-winning Visual Album, “Lemonade.” He’s graced the cover of the Washington Post, had features in the NY Times, Vogue, BBC, CNN, VICE and more. His ever growing list of collaborations has been with brands like Kenneth Cole, Nike, Equinox Fitness, and with other artists such as Alicia Keys, Swiss Beatz, Seun Kuti, Tony Allen, Alek Wek, and Danielle Brooks. You can find his music on iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music. Laolu’s collaboration with Bvlgari, “Man in Black” cologne will be in stores September 2017. Come see Laolu’s Art at Redbird Gallery in NYC in Chelsea.
Photo: Bret Hartman / TED
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