Oludamola Adebowale

Oludàmọ́lá Adébọ̀wálé is a Nigerian archivist, historian, writer, and curator. He is recognized for his work in Nigerian history. He is an associate fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a member of the International Council on Archives.

Education and career

Adebowale earned a bachelor's degree from Obafemi Awolowo University in 2008. He also holds diplomas in branding and copywriting from the Lagos Entrepreneurial Business School and the University of Lagos. In recognition of his work in promoting Nigeria's cultural history, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in public administration.

In 2013, he founded ASIRI Magazine as a digital repository of Nigerian history and research. It started as a 33-paged illustration art magazine originally conceived to bridge the gap in historical awareness within Nigerian society and has since evolved beyond its comic roots into a pioneering digital history brand—curating archival images, rare footage, and in-depth research. With the support of various embassies in Nigeria, these editions were translated into French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and other languages. Over a span of two years, the magazine recorded more than 700,000 downloads.

Adebowale was a regular contributor to the "Arts and Culture" page of Guardian Life, between 2019-2024, the Sunday magazine of The Guardian newspaper in Nigeria. His articles on topics such as "Women Arise in the face of Misogyny: A Cultural and Historical Perspective," "Jaja of Opobo: Rivers of Oil and Blood," "Re-Discovering the Benin Art: A Universal Vessel for Cultural Importance," and "ÀBÍKÚ: A Thin Line that cuts between Tradition and Science" have been cited by academic scholars both within and outside Nigeria.

In 2021, Adebowale created 1851 Agidingbi, one of Africa's and Nigeria's first variant of the chess game available as both a mobile application (iOS and Android) and a physical board game.

Exhibitions and other affiliations

Exhibitions curated

Adebowale has curated and produced numerous exhibitions, including:

• Ogun State African Drum Festival Exhibition (2019)
• Chief Ebenezer Obey Museum Booth at the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta (2019)
• Colours of Our History: 1851 Bombardment of Lagos (2018)
• Wole Soyinka at 86 WSICE Birthday Exhibitions (2019)
• Wole Soyinka at 90 Timeless Memories: Elastic Effects Exhibition (2024)
• Timeless Memories: Elastic Effects of Wole Soyinka (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024,2025)
• British Council 75th Anniversary Virtual Exhibition (2020)
• Cycles of Fashion (A Terra Kulture and Federal Ministry of Information and Culture Project, 2020)
• Vintage Nigeria Digital Campaign (A Nigeria at 60 Archival Celebration of the Past Times) in collaboration with The Rockefeller Archive Center and Ford Foundation (2020)
• Moses Majekodunmi Archive Exhibition at Polo Club Lagos (2023)

Participating exhibitions

He has participated in exhibitions as an artist, researcher, and archivist:

• Lagos: Ownership and Identities (Institute of African and Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos/Universität Bayreuth, 2020)
• Nigeria Re-Envisaged (Finland, 2024) (A History Photo Exhibition on Nigerian History by the Finnish Government)

Film contributions

As a researcher and archivist, Adebowale has contributed his expertise to film productions, including:

• Funmilayo Ransome Kuti (2024)
• The Man Died (2024)

Book publications

• Timeless Memories: Conversation between Wole Soyinka and Ulli Beier. Compiled and Produced by Oludamola Adebowale. Foreword by Prof Olu Obafemi Edited by Prof Olufemi Abodunrin and Prof Mogome Masoga
• History of Lagos: A 10 Digital Compilation Post on ASIRI Magazine (Compendium on History of Lagos). Commissioned by the Rhodes-Vivour Foundation

Archive digitization and preservation projects

His archive digitization and preservation projects include:

• Digitization of the Archive of Dr. Chief Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi (2022)
• Chief Dr. Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi Museum Booth at the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta (2019)
• Consultant for the JK Centre for Yorùbá Culture & History Museum
• Onikan House, Loving Lagos

Affiliations

• Senior Curator, Nigerian-Brazilian Public History Project
• Associate Fellow, Royal Historical Society (UK)
• International Council on Archives (ICA)