Jimoh Buraimoh

Jimoh Buraimoh was born in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria, in 1943 into a Muslim family. He started his career as a lightening technician in the famous Duro Ladipo Theatre, one of the earliest performing theatres in West Africa. He is a Nigerian painter and artist. Chief Buraimoh is one of the most influential artists to emerge from the 1960s workshops conducted by Ulli Beier and Georgina Beier in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. Since then, he has become one of the best known artists from Osogbo.

Chief Buraimoh’s work merges western media and Yoruba style motifs. He is credited with being Africa's first head painter when in 1964, he made a contemporary art form inspired by the Yoruba tradition of incorporating beadwork designs into ceremonial fabrics and beaded crowns. In 1972, he represented Nigeria in the First All African Trade Fair in Nairobi, Kenya. One of his famous paintings was presented at the World Festival of Black Arts, Festac '77. He was the first Nigerian to be awarded a membership in the Contemporary World Association of Mosaic Art and his works have been exhibited both at home and abroad.

Jimoh Buraimoh is also a globally respected intellectual and teaching artist. In 1974, he taught at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. He also taught at the University of Bloomington and other schools in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.