Oladosu Michael Emerald is a Nigerian writer, artist, photographer, and actor whose work blends visual storytelling with poetry, activism, and emotional truth. His art explores identity, spirituality, displacement, and the delicate relationship between humanity and nature. He currently serves as an editor at Uncanny Magazine, Ugly Review, MAAR Review, and Surging Tide Magazine, where he manages visual and literary content while mentoring emerging voices across creative disciplines.
Emerald began his creative journey early, sketching and writing as a child in Ogun State. His curiosity for how words and images could hold memory grew into a lifelong pursuit. He studied political science at the University of Ibadan, a background that shaped his sensitivity to power, culture, and the politics of representation. In 2024, he graduated from the Mimaster Illustration Art School in Bologna, Italy, where he refined his approach to visual language and conceptual storytelling.
He is the author of Every Little Thing That Moves (2024), a poetry collection praised for its tenderness and introspection, and A Step Beyond Failure (2020), a motivational book centered on resilience. His poetry and essays have appeared in Chestnut Review, FIYAH, ONLY POEMS, Lolwe, The Temz Review, Trampset, Vast Chasm Literary Press, Menace, Good Printed Things Magazine, Garden Party Collective, The Marrow International Poetry, Workers Write Journal, and Ecopunk Lit, among others. His journalism and commentary on culture, film, and music have featured in The Guardian, Daily Times, and Nigerian Tribune.
Recognition for his writing has come from several quarters. He is the winner of the Stephen DiBiase Poetry Prize (2026), Garden Party Collective Poetry Contest (2025), the Sine Qua Non Inaugural Poetry Prize (2025), the Off the Limit Contest (2023), and the SprinNG Poetry Contest (2024). He was a finalist for the Oxbelly Fiction Writers Program. He was also placed the first runner-up in the Sande Poetry Prize (2025), second runner-up in the Fireflies Poetry Contest (2024) and was a finalist for the EOPP Poetry Prize (2025), AprilCentaur Essay Contest (2023), and Paradise Gate House Poetry Contest (2023). His work has earned multiple Best of the Net and the Pushcart nominations, and appeared in the Providus Bank Anthology alongside Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka in 2023.
In 2025, Emerald’s photography took center stage at the Reflections of Humanity exhibition held at Alliance Française, Ibadan, curated by Nseabasi Akpan. The international showcase featured sixteen photographers from across the world. His series, Cartography of the Soul, examined empathy, shared spirituality, and environmental responsibility through striking contrasts of light and shadow. The work was described as an inward study of connection—turning everyday human emotion into a map of resilience and belonging.
Over the years, Emerald has participated in residencies and fellowships that shaped his interdisciplinary outlook. He was a pioneer fellow at both the Muktar Aliyu Art Residency (2024) and the Rongo Art Residency (2025). He also completed a Spanish training program under MASA Development in 2025. These experiences deepened his understanding of art as a universal language, capable of crossing boundaries of culture and geography.
He has shared his knowledge widely as a creative writing instructor and facilitator. At Status Dignus Child Rescue Home, he volunteered to teach children the art of storytelling. He has also facilitated workshops at the Okigbo Writing Workshop and the Young Artists Art Hub, helping young creatives explore expression through words and imagery. In 2024, he co-judged a photography contest at the Muktar Aliyu Art Residency with photographer Sadiq Mustapha, and in 2025, he served as a judge for the 7th Art Competition and Inter-School Talent Hunt Exhibition organized by the Young Artists Art Hub and Alliance Française Ibadan.
Emerald has been invited to speak at several creative platforms, including the Adinkralinks Network (Night Howls) in Ghana and Glasgow, and the Okigbo Poetry Club in Nigeria. He has also featured on radio programs such as Diamond FM and Agidigbo FM, where he discussed writing, art, and the changing landscape of Nigerian creativity.
His career continues to evolve across disciplines. He recently completed a full-length book and is developing an illustrated storybook that merges image and text in experimental ways. His first solo art exhibition is slated for early 2026, and by the last quarter of 2026, he will debut his first music album in collaboration with his brother. Each new venture expands the scope of his vision, confirming his belief that art should not be confined by form but united by purpose.
Oladosu Michael Emerald was born in Oyo State, raised in Ogun State, and currently resides in Ibadan, Nigeria.
He can be reached via michaelemerald99@gmail.com
