Portrait of a confident African woman with arms crossed, standing in front of colorful artwork in Sudan.
Growing up in Nigeria, Alayo Akinkugbe wasn’t particularly encouraged to pursue a career in art history, but at 24, she’s become one of the art world’s rising stars. With a particular focus on black representation in art, she exploded on the scene when she established an Instagram account, @blackhistoryofart, which was soon recommended as an account to follow by The New York Times.