Digital / lighting / projection art
2-D art, including murals, mosaic, photography, etc.
Site-specific and integrated art
Pittsburgh Creative Corps Artist Directory
Mikael Owunna
Primary Discipline
Artistic Practice
Digital / photography
Murals
Assemblage, including found objects, multimedia
Anatomy of the Human, 2023, vinyl textile, 92′ x 24.’ Installation at The Andy Warhol Museum’s POP District in partnership with Citizens Bank, Pittsburgh, PA.
Myth-Science of the Gatekeepers, 2024, mixed reality installation, glass sculpture, virtual reality film, 7 channel video, 77′ x 26.5′ x 12.’ Installation at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA.
Infinite Essence: Celestial Liberation, 2021, digital billboard, 60′ x 20.’ Installed in Pittsburgh, PA.
The Three Sisters, 2024, architectural light design, 884′ x 48′ x 78′ (each bridge, three total). Commissioned by Allegheny County, PA.
Prayers Answered, 2024, window adhesive vinyl, 57′ x 10.’ Commissioned by Philadelphia’s University Science Center, for the exhibition “Futures Without Guns, ” Philadelphia, PA.
About the Artist
Mikael Owunna is a Nigerian American multimedia artist, engineer, filmmaker, and public art visionary whose work spans photography, video, installation, sculpture, architectural light design, and emerging technologies like virtual and augmented reality. He serves as President of the City of Pittsburgh’s Public Art and Civic Design Commission and is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Rainbow Serpent, a Black LGBTQ art | tech | spirituality collective.
Owunna’s creative practice explores African cosmologies and liberatory futures through highly innovative and immersive public artworks. His public commissions include “The Three Sisters” (2024), a major architectural light installation for Pittsburgh’s iconic Sister Bridges that fused African myth with cutting-edge lighting technology, and “Playing the Cosmic Strings” (2021), a large-scale public art project with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He has also created works for the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh International Airport, Orange Barrel Media, and the Cleveland Foundation.
Internationally exhibited and widely collected, Owunna’s work has been featured at Fotografiska Stockholm, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Art Dubai, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. His photographic monographs include “Limitless Africans” and “Cosmologies”, and he has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, NPR, and VICE.
Known for seamlessly integrating traditional African spiritual concepts with contemporary technologies, Owunna builds public experiences that are transcendent, technologically advanced, and rooted in ritual, community, and transformation. He is an ideal collaborator for ambitious public art projects that aim to inspire, uplift, and innovate.
Photo by Ajamu X
Web
Accreditations, Certifications, and/or Awards
- Three Rivers Business Alliance: Excellence in Creative Business Award, 2024;
- Pittsburgh Visual Artist of the Year, 2023;
- President, Pittsburgh Public Art & Civic Design Commission, 2023;
- Certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), 2023;
- Certified LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE), 2023;
- Creative Capital: Shortlist: 2022;
- Carol R. Brown Award: Established Artist of the Year, Finalist, 2021;
- Professional Fine Art Photographer of the Year, The International Photography Awards, 2021;
- Emmy Nomination for “LIMITLESS” by WQED, Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy Awards, 2021;
- YWCA Racial Justice Award: Creativity and Innovation Award, 2019
Provides Fabrication Services to Other Artists
No
Teaching Artist
Yes, ages 5 and up
Joined the Directory
May 2025
Related
PROJECT
Pittsburgh Creative Corps
Designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pittsburgh Creative Corps initiative engages artists and creative workers to activate the public realm while providing economic opportunity.
“Public art is a powerful extension of my creative practice, allowing me to transform shared spaces into platforms for connection, empowerment, and storytelling.”
Mikael Owunna
Contact the Artist
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Related
PROJECT
Pittsburgh Creative Corps
Designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pittsburgh Creative Corps initiative engages artists and creative workers to activate the public realm while providing economic opportunity.
