Samuel Obadero celebrates Calgary artists with FÈSÒJAIYÉ
Samuel Obadero’s exhibit FÈSÒJAIYÉ, celebrates local artists and tells the stories of the creators that make up Calgary’s vibrant arts community. Inspired by his own imposter syndrome as an artist, Samuel channels his past feelings of doubt in his art to create stunning portraits that appreciate and recognize the role of artists in society. FÈSÒJAIYÉ, a digital and film photographic exhibition, can be viewed at the Lightbox Studio at Arts Commons or explored virtually.
Samuel is a documentary and lifestyle photographer and proudly proclaims himself “a lifetime advocate for the arts and for artists.” In 2019, he immigrated to Calgary from Lagos, Nigeria, and in the same year received the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society New Canadian Artist Award at the Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions. But despite his impressive early achievement, Samuel grappled with identifying as an artist.
“When I came here, for a very long time, I could not confidently call myself an artist,” Samuel says. Originally from Nigeria, a country that has a traditional view on artistic practice, Samuel feels his artform has often been misunderstood. “Even when I started calling myself an artist, I struggled with the feeling of not being enough. But moving to the city of Calgary helped me begin to see that I'm actually doing the work of an artist.”
Samuel has exhibited artwork at the Calgary Central Library in 2019 with Project Red, the Ethnik Festival in 2019, and Calgary Arts Development with Aisinna’kiiks earlier this year. In addition to his photography practice, Samuel is also a stage performer and has been performing and directing plays for the past 12 years. In June 2021, he performed on stage for the first time in Canada as part of Arts Commons Presents’ Braving Beauty Cabaret.
“I still struggle with the feeling of not being enough,” he admits, “But I'm glad I have people around me that keep reassuring me and keep nudging me and keep giving me the confidence that I'm also now transferring to other people too — people that look like me, that sound like me, that have the same struggle that I have.”
With the support of his friends and community, Samuel has begun to embrace his artist identity and wants to pay that acceptance forward by celebrating local artists through his practice.
The title of his exhibition, FÈSÒJAIYÉ, means to take life easy in Yoruba. The name is personal to Samuel, as it is his father’s nickname whose personality and approach to life inspire how Samuel views art and artists.
“I think that artists are not just a part of the society but integral parts of the society. People say that artists are the soul of society, and I agree 101%,” he says.
The Nigeria-born photographer says FÈSÒJAIYÉ is part of his initiation and evolution into the community he belongs in as an artist. His end goal is no small feat — Samuel aims to capture every artist in Calgary.
“For me, there is no better way to appreciate artists than to document the artists themselves,” explains Samuel. “My desire is to get to meet as many artists as possible and do a portrait of them.”
Samuel's documentary-style photography aims to highlight artists in their truest form. “My purpose is to photograph the true essence of my subject,” he says. To do this, Samuel artfully applies his knowledge of lighting techniques to help direct his shoots in a way which he feels best documents his subjects.
Though a large part of his goal for FÈSÒJAIYÉ is to encourage viewers to appreciate artists, Samuel emphasizes that appreciation is only the beginning and people should also support artists by investing in them with resources and compensating them fairly. He says, “all of those things will help to keep pushing the artist forward, and the art itself will be better off for it.”
Currently, Samuel is a Rozsa Arts Management Program student and continues to work with other platforms such as Calgary Arts Development, Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation, Action Dignity and WOEZO Africa Music and Dance Theatre to help curate, document events, and assist with mentoring and coaching other immigrant artists.
Samuel hopes that his work will inspire the next generation of creators, particularly immigrant artists.
"For me, it's my responsibility now to ensure that the little light that I have seen, I should share that light with others also, and I'm excited about what the future holds.”
Samuel Obadero is a documentary and lifestyle photographer with a heart for social advocacy. To view his exhibition, FÈSÒJAIYÉ, visit the Lightbox Studio at Arts Commons or view it online here. To see more of Samuel’s work, visit Motif Photography on Instagram. Special thanks goes to Royal Bank of Canada for their support of the RBC Emerging Visual Artists Program at Arts Commons.
