By Megan Cullins, contributor
To Iorver Ikeseh, art is a universal language, and he seeks to use his painting talents and murals to communicate a sense of belonging around the world.
“Most of my pieces revolve around belonging,” Ikeseh said. “Just talking about identity, space, shared spaces, just to give people a sense of ownership of space, to remind people of the fact that you’re not alone. You should feel it’s your space.”
One of Ikeseh’s most recent pieces converted one of those bland green public utilities boxes into a piece of art outside of The Friendly Fermenter on the corner of Mason and Market streets.
“It’s creating engagement, which is why this piece really does that … It’s also helping transform a conventional box,” Ikeseh said. “These are the kind of things that I want to see my work do because they live a life of their own.”
Ikeseh, who goes by “Ver,” is a graduate student and teaching assistant at JMU helping with instruction of foundational classes in the School of Art, Design, and Art History.
He was born in Nigeria and lived there all of his life until he left to attend Leiden University in the Netherlands. Working in the Netherlands was pretty similar to working in the U.S., Ikeseh said, but working in Nigeria was different.
Michelle Bails, an art enthusiast in the area who has come to know Ikeseh, said Ikeseh has found ways to paint on a range of materials, including rugs and retired traffic cones so he could create public art without breaking a city’s ordinances for public art or getting mired in protracted processes for obtaining permits.
“Ver had to come up with ideas for non-permanent murals,” Bails said.
In Nigeria, for instance, it is difficult to get spaces to work and the authorities might be apprehensive about the art because they’re worried it may criticize the government.
“As an immigrant … approaching these things also from experience because I’ve lived in a lot of spaces and I know the importance of feeling included,” he said.
To help engage with communities, Ikeseh created the 920 Project. This project started as an idea to paint and donate 920 murals to communities, schools, and orphanages in rural Africa, but his goal has become more worldwide.
The figure 920 no longer stands for the amount of murals Ikeseh wishes to paint but rather for the amount of communities he wants to engage with. As of now, he has 100 murals across 50 different communities.
Muna Onuora, one of Ikeseh’s friends, said what makes him so special is that beyond his artistic talents, he is “an incredibly considerate and grounded person.”
“He goes out of his way to help others, whether that’s mentoring young creatives, showing up for friends, or supporting community events,” Onuora said. “His humility, kindness, and authenticity have had a lasting impact on everyone who has had the chance to work with or be around him”
Because he frequently listens to music as he works, it’s common for people to come up and talk to Ikeseh. Some ask what he’s working on while others give him tips and ideas that he can incorporate into his work.
Ikeseh’s work in the community won him the JMU Student Organization Awards and Recognition (SOAR) Award for Engaged Citizen of the year earlier this spring. The JMU SOAR Awards include organization-wide, individual, faculty/staff, and fraternity and sorority life and accreditation awards.
Ikeseh is enthusiastic about sharing his work.
“When I found out Ver was doing murals with African undertones — but on this continent — I had to see it for myself. I drove 5 hours and showed up on the campus of JMU after only giving Ver a few days’ notice.” Said Bails, now one of Ikeseh’s friends. “Not only was I given a personal tour of his local murals, but also of the city of Harrisonburg.”
Ikeseh has done a lot of versatile work, but he has also had the opportunity to do installations commissioned by Harrisonburg and JMU.
“Over the 2024 Summer, he painted in over 10 buildings and resident halls in JMU.” Said Folajimi Kalejaye, a friend of Ikeseh. “Beyond his Art, Ver is interested in community engagement and project management. He dislikes sugar, he loves his Nigerian Native food, he dislikes hiking and would rather spend his time talking about Arts & politics. He is always fun to be with.”
After Ikeseh finishes his masters in fine arts at JMU he plans to move to a bigger city where he can secure more commissions and potentially teach at a university.
“I’ve always said that the dream is to die painting,” he said. “I mean I really wish like to paint a mural halfway and calm down, sit down, take a look at it, and maybe just go like that. You know, with a brush in my hand.”
Thanks for reading The Citizen, which won the Virginia Press Association’s 2022 News Sweepstakes award as the top online news site in Virginia. We’re independent. We’re local. We pay our contributors, and the money you give goes directly to the reporting. No overhead. No printing costs. Just facts, stories and context. We value your support.
