Born in Ondo State, Nigeria, mixed-media artist, Yisa Akinbolaji, has developed a unique painting technique, for which he was featured on the cover of Art Business News, New York, in 2011. Akinbolaji first began experimenting with the technique in 1993 while in Lagos. He later incorporated this technique into his monotype printmaking while obtaining his master's in fine arts from the University of North Dakota. The artist has also been featured in national and international media; including CBC, CTV, City Tv, NTA News, Daily Times, Guardian Newspaper, Style Magazine, Global Eyes Magazine, Winnipeg Free Press and Ottawa Stars. 

Akinbolaji's professional career began in 1986 in Lagos, where he studied fine arts at the Yaba College of Technology. Before immigrating to Canada in 1997, he was recognized with inclusion in Nigerian Artists: A Who's Who and Bibliography (1993), compiled for the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Washington, D.C; by Bernice Kelly and Janet L. Stanley. Akinbolaji\'s work has been exhibited in notable galleries in Canada, Nigeria and the US. He has received several awards and his works are in private and public collections around the world. Yisa's "Peace and Purpose", a mosaic comprising 10,080 glass tiles in 42 different colours is installed at the Manitoba-Saskatchewan division of CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Winnipeg.

Akinbolaji lives in Winnipeg, Canada, and currently serves on the board of the Manitoba Arts Council, since October 2010. He served as president of the Manitoba Society of Artists 2001 - 2003.

All images and text © the artist