Luke Agada could have moved anywhere after finishing his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023, showing his work in national and international exhibitions, and receiving several awards and fellowships along the way.
But the Nigerian painter and his wife decided to make Chicago their home—instead of New York or Los Angeles, the two biggest art hubs in the US.
“Chicago has a good balance of everything,” Agada told ARTnews just before the opening of his solo exhibition, “To Translate Is to Move Across,” at Monique Meloche Gallery during the third edition Chicago Exhibition Weekend (CXW) last month.
October 3, 2025
