About the Artist
Full name: IDAHOSA Harrison Oghogho Artist name: Harrison Idahosa
Harrison Idahosa is a Nigerian painter, photographer and lecturer whose practice explores cultural memory, resilience, and the symbolic strength of everyday life. Born in Jos in 1977 and based in Maiduguri, his life and work have been shaped by the socio-political challenges of Nigeria’s northeast. He holds a BA in Creative Arts from the University of Maiduguri and an MFA in Painting from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he refined his technical practice and critical approach to art. He is currently studying a PhD in Art History at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Growing up, he often transformed simple, everyday materials into tools of play and imagination, a formative experience that continues to shape his work. His childhood memories of games, and paper and tin toys now re-emerge as symbolic motifs in his paintings, standing for resilience, aspiration, and the mastery that comes through persistence. Today, he balances his role as a lecturer at the University of Maiduguri with his practice as an exhibiting artist whose work bridges personal reflection and collective experience.
