Meet: Itohan Barlow
- Written byGiada Maestra
- Published date 20 August 2025
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We caught up with Chelsea graduate Itohan Barlow to discuss her intersectional practice and her recent contribution to the Nigerian Pavilion at the 2025 London Design Biennale, held at Somerset House.
Since graduating in 2012, she has remained passionate about deepening cultural meaning and exploring unconventional design approaches. She is the founder of Culture Lab Africa - a design consultancy where “culture meets innovation”. The studio helps brands, institutions, and creative ventures shape their identities, craft compelling narratives, and build culturally resonant strategies.
How would you describe your experience at Chelsea College?
My time at Chelsea was incredibly formative - a period of deep exploration that allowed me to investigate cultural meanings and design in context. I used the city of Lagos, Nigeria, as a focal point for my practice, examining themes of ad-hoc creation and unconventional approaches to building in West Africa.
Coming from a background in Architecture, the MA in Interior and Spatial Design course at Chelsea, and the opportunity to meet peers expanding their practices in diverse directions, significantly broadened my thinking.
Chelsea gave me the language, the tools and the freedom to push beyond conventional boundaries and explore socially conscious, context-specific work. It was also where I began asking myself the questions that continue to guide my approach to design projects today.
What have you been up to since graduating?
I recently completed an Executive MBA course for Design Leaders to strengthen my leadership approach and strategic thinking in design-led innovation.
For nearly a decade, I ran a design consultancy called Indigo Arya, which focused on storytelling and experiential events for African brands. We executed projects across Lagos, London, The Middle East and beyond, working at the intersection of design, cultural programming and narrative.
Last year, I founded Culture Lab Africa - a creative studio that promotes West African culture on global stages through storytelling and design. We work with brands and communities that reflect the brilliance and cultural richness of African creativity.
What are you doing at the moment, and where are you based?
I am the founder of Culture Lab Africa and sit on the Board of Directors of the Mwankom Group - a global media, entertainment and technology company that publishes Rolling Stone Africa. I also contribute to voluntary initiatives focused on scaling the impact of West Africa’s creative industries both within and beyond the continent, while strengthening leadership strategies for design-led innovation and cultural policy. I’m currently based between London and Lagos.
You led the visual direction and production of the Nigeria Pavilion, Hopes and Impediments, showed at the 2025 London Design Biennale at Somerset House. Can you tell us more?
The Nigeria Pavilion, Hopes and Impediments, was a landmark moment for Nigerian design on the global stage. It explored the tension between imagination and inherited systems, using Nigeria as a lens to ask broader questions about the values shaping our collective future. The Pavilion received a special mention from the international jury for its in-depth exploration of individual and collective identity and its innovative use of technology to convey cultural beliefs, creativity and communal memory.
One of the most defining elements was the spotlight on Lejja - an ancient iron-smelting site in southeastern Nigeria. Its story provided both a cultural and personal anchor for me. As a young female designer, it reaffirmed that technology and creativity have always been inherently African and that my roots are part of a long legacy of innovation and communal ingenuity.
Leading a multidisciplinary team of researchers, designers, partners and advisors was both challenging and deeply rewarding. But the most fulfilling part of the process was shaping a national story that created space for a deeper understanding of our cultural legacy.
What do you enjoy most about working at the intersection of space, culture and narrative?
It’s the potential for transformation. When space is shaped by culture and narrative, it can spark reflection, foster belonging or challenge existing systems. I love creating environments that allow people to feel both seen and provoked - spaces where stories stretch beyond the walls and into the community offering new possibilities and futures. This intersection allows me to hold complexity and hope at the same time and to give voice to stories that haven’t traditionally had space to breathe, allowing bold and unapologetic cultural futures to take form.
What has been your greatest professional challenge, and how have you overcome it?
A consistent challenge has been navigating underrepresentation - not only of African narratives, but also of African women in decision-making spaces. Founding my own company has helped bridge that gap. It gave me the autonomy to build inclusive teams, create new opportunities and shape frameworks that reflect the values I stand for.
Balancing big commitments has also pushed me - raising four young children, producing a national pavilion while completing an Executive MBA, was particularly intense. But it taught me how to prioritise, lean into relationships, build meaningful collaborations and find the overlaps that lead to impactful work and some level of balance.
Are there any other projects you’d like to mention?
Yes - I’m currently developing a design collective across West Africa focused on articulating a distinctly West African design language. The goal is to explore shared aesthetics across architecture, product and visual design and build a framework that can be taught globally.
It’s rooted in the belief that West African design holds powerful tools for imagining better futures - not just for the region, but for the world.
What would you say to someone thinking of studying at Chelsea?
Chelsea is a place where your questions matter. Don’t be afraid to take up space, challenge the frameworks you’re taught and pursue the ideas that keep you up at night. Explore beyond the limits of your degree. Experiment boldly - with materials, with stories and form.
