Nearly thirty years after Fela Kuti‘s death, the visual language built around his rebellion arrives in Toronto. On September 17, As Loud As Freedom opens at 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media and Education: the first art exhibition produced by Sample Chief, and the most ambitious cultural initiative the platform has staged to date.
Sample Chief is a media company and cultural platform highlighting African and Afro-diasporic music and culture through curated sound, storytelling, and activations. Through editorial storytelling, music discovery, cultural programming, and live experiences, Sample Chief connects audiences with the people, sounds, ideas, and creative expressions shaping African and Afro-diasporic culture.
Curated by TD Curatorial Fellow Abisola Oni, the exhibition is a multigenerational conversation, peering introspectively into how Fela’s music has defined the sound and spirit of Nigerian resistance. His album covers, principally designed by Lemi Ghariokwu, gave that resistance a visual form, through their bold shapes, saturated colour, and clear message of defiance. As Loud As Freedom traces that visual language forward into the hands of artists working in collage, painting, and illustration today, and asks what has changed in the decades since, and more importantly, what has not.
“Sample Chief has always been about connecting people to the sounds, ideas, and stories shaping African and Afro-diasporic culture. As Loud As Freedom is the first time we’ve brought that mission into a gallery space, and it felt right that our first exhibition would be this ambitious. With the legendary Fela Kuti as our starting focus, we intentionally brought together artists across generations who have been directly and indirectly impacted by his work, and who have been circling around the question of what freedom truly means for the Africans of today.”
— Ore Sami, Founder, Sample Chief
As Loud as Freedom: The Artists
Lemi Ghariokwu: A Lagos-based visual artist, designer, and cultural figure who, as the principal album cover designer for Fela Kuti, established an iconic visual language around Nigerian music and resistance. His work holds a place in MoMA’s permanent collection.
Jibola Fagbamiye: A Toronto-based illustrator and 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award nominee (Best Reality-Based Work) for the graphic novel Fela: Music Is the Weapon.
Ehiko Odeh: A multidisciplinary artist born in Surulere, Lagos, now based in Toronto. Odeh’s practice is rooted in material transformation, bridging the organic and the archival. Her work was recently acquired into the Government of Ontario’s Art Collection, following recognition from the Member of Parliament for Richmond Hill in 2023.
Soji “Shakes” Oyinsan: A multidisciplinary visual artist, filmmaker, and video editor based between Toronto and Lagos, whose research into the spiritual and cultural history of twins in Yoruba culture informs the work on view.
Chukwudubem Ukaigwe: An artist, curator, and writer born in Lagos and now based in Stanford, whose bold, experimental visual language draws on the geometries of the Nigerian landscape and Fela Kuti’s cultural imprint. His work is held in Toronto’s Wedge Collection.
Why Toronto, Why Now
The Greater Toronto Area is home to the majority of Canada’s Nigerian community, and As Loud As Freedom was built by and for the city’s African diasporic artists, as three of the five exhibiting artists live and work within Toronto. The exhibition runs through October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day, marked at 918 Bathurst with a night of music, food, and celebration.
Programming
As Loud As Freedom runs alongside a full season of public programming:
- Opening Night: September 17, 6:00 to 9:30 PM
- Artist Talk, moderated by curator Abisola Oni: September 19, 2:00 to 4:00 PM
- Floral Adornment Workshop with Tlisa: September 20, 2:00 to 4:30 PM (ticketed)
- Collage Workshop with Ehiko Odeh: September 25, 1:00 to 4:00 PM (ticketed)
- Listening Lounge, an evening of music, conversation, and cultural discovery: September 26, 4:00 to 8:00 PM
- Poetry Night: September 27, 5:00 to 8:00 PM
- Independence Day Bash with Local·Global, Deelo & Ṣewà: October 1, 6:00 to 10:00 PM
- How To DJ With Vinyl, a workshop with Do Not Push: October 3, 3:00 to 6:00 PM
- Movie Night: October 4, 4:00 to 7:00 PM
Access and Venue
As Loud As Freedom runs September 17 through October 4, 2026, at 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media and Education, 918 Bathurst Street, Toronto. The gallery is free and open to the public daily, 12:00 to 5:00 PM.
