Jelili Atiku is a Nigerian multimedia artist with political concerns for human rights and justice. Through drawing, installation sculpture, photography, video and performance (live art); he strives to help viewers understand the world and expand their understanding and experiences, so that they can activate and renew their energies, lives and environments. For over two  decades, Jelili has put his art at service of the prevailing concerns of our times; especially those that threaten our collective existence and the sustenance of our universe. The contents of these concerns ranging from human rights abuses, psychosocial and emotional effects of the traumatic events such violence, war, poverty, corruption, climate change and injustice; and others that are associated with our warring world have dominated his artistic forms.

Born on Friday 27th September 1968 in Ejigbo (Lagos), Nigeria, Jelili was trained at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and University of Lagos, Nigeria – Where he was awarded Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) and Master of Arts (Visual Arts) respectively. He is presently the artistic Director of AFiRIperFOMA – a collective of performance artists in Africa; and Chief Coordinator of Advocate for Human Rights Through Art (AHRA). Jelili has travelled widely and participated in numerous performances/exhibitions/talks in Africa, Asia, Europe and America. He is 2015 Prince Claus Laureates and was wrongly accused, arrested, detained in prison and trialed in court on the instance of his performance in public space in Ejigbo, Lagos in 2016; and also in 2019 for protecting the indigenous Yoruba religion, Ìṣẹ̀ṣe. He was artist in residence/ Professor at the Department of Africana Studies/Brown Arts Initiative in Brown University, Providence, USA in 2018. He is the President of Ejigbo Indigenes Forum (EIF); Chairman of Community Development Committee, Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Lagos, Nigeria; and he was artist in residence at Thami Mnyele Foundation, Amsterdam in Netherland from September 3 – October 13, 2021. He is presently the Assistant Coordinator, Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Welfare Association (IWA) – popularly known as Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Assembly  and the Co-Chair of the association’ s Publicity, Publication and Propaganda Committee – the Committee that operates and manage the Association’s publicity agent, Ìṣẹ̀ṣe TV.