Olakunle Joel Adewale is the ninth child of his parents’ fourteen children. He was born on May 13, 1981 in Mushin, Lagos State. Adewale is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and visual artist and founder of Tender Arts Nigeria in 2013 with a focus on therapeutic arts, arts in health, talent development, community empowerment, and civic engagement through visual, literary, and performing arts that benefit children, youth, adults, and the elderly worldwide.
On October 10, 2021, he inaugurated the first-ever Mental Health Fellowship, where he helps magnify the voices of young people interested in mental health while also providing a sort of mental therapy to the fellows.
Adewale began his artistic career as a teen, creating comics, Bible figures, and creative writings before transitioning to a professional level.
Adewale attended Mushin Mainland Model Primary School before moving on to St. Joseph Boy’s Secondary School in Surulere, Lagos. Following that, he attended Auchi Polytechnic to study Painting and General Arts before earning a Bachelor of Art degree in Fine and Applied Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. In 2015, he studied Civic Leadership at Tulane University in New Orleans and Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida for a summer intensive.
In 2019, he was recognised for his contributions to the arts in medicine sector by Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, who declared August 2, 2019 as “Kunle Adewale Day” in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Notably, Adewale also emerged as the inaugural International Artist in Residence of the Eyes of the Artists Foundation.
Recognitions
- 2015 YNaija top 10 most influential Nigerians under 40
- 2015, Young African ambassador for Art and Culture
- 2016 Commonwealth Youth Award for West Africa region
- 2016, Member of Art Therapy Without Borders, Inc.
- 2018, JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Nigeria awardee
- 2018, International Advocate For persons living Sickle Cell Anemia.
- 2019, World Bank Social Inclusion Hero from Nigeria
- 2019 Atlantic Fellow of Global Brain Health Institute, University of California
