Akin Fakeye, born 1936
Biography

Akin Fakeye, born in 1936, is a Nigerian Yoruba wood sculptor associated with the carving family of Ila-Orangun. He learned from his father before training with Lamidi Fakeye, and established his own studio in 1968. His workshop trained other carvers, including members of the next generation of the family.

His work belongs to a sculptural practice encompassing freestanding figures and carved architectural elements. The Peace Corps 50th Anniversary exhibition catalogue records a signed male figure, dated around 1965, in the collection of Phyllis Noble, who served in Nigeria from 1965 to 1967.

The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College holds his signed hardwood Veranda Post, dated to the early 1960s. Acquired as a gift in 2013, it was shown in Inventory: New Works and Conversations around African Art in 2016. This documented work provides an important reference for his place within the Fakeye family and the broader history of Nigerian sculpture.

Lamidi Fakeye and the Fakeye Family explores the shared training and individual careers of the family.