Damien Ajavon




Damien Ajavon is a textile artist originally from Paris, now living and working between Noresund and Oslo. As a dedicated artist, their creations are a testament to personal exploration and a passion for sharing stories through the transformative power and mutable qualities of textiles. At the core is a desire to merge cultures to create something new and beautiful. Rooted in their heritage, drawing on African and Western cultures and queer communities, Ajavon’s practice with textiles serves as a medium for culturally representative pieces that merge generations of African craftsmanship with diasporic and transoceanic perspectives. Their work explores the tactile manipulation of textile fibers, with a creative process deeply influenced by the interplay of visual and sensory experiences.

With a MA in Textile from the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo, Ajavon’s work has in recent years been featured in group and solo exhibitions as well as artist residencies across North America, Europe, and Africa, amongst them Oslo Kunstforening (Oslo), Spriten Kunsthall (Skien), AiR Green (Noresund), Fotogalleriet (Oslo), Future Fair (New York), MK&G messe (Hamburg ) Textile Museum in (Netherlands), Tensta Kunsthall (Sweden) and Billedkunstnerne i Oslo. In the spring of 2025 they have had solo presentations at Kunsthall Oslo (Oslo), cc-tapis (Milan), and the Hannah Ryggen Triennale (Trondheim). Their work is part of the public collections of the City of Oslo and KpA – Kunst på arbeidsplassen (“Art in the workplace”), and a large-scale art commission for the new government quarter by KORO - Public Art Norway, solidifying their contribution to contemporary textile art in Norway.

Studies
2021-2023 Master’s in arts and Craft, Oslo National Academy of Art,
Textile (Oslo, Norway) Graduated May 2023.

2017-2021 Bachelor in Textile Construction,
Contemporary Textiles Center (Montréal, Canada)


Exhibitions
2026

Group Show, Here, June                             
National Museum of African Art – Smithsonian Institution,  (Washington, USA) 

Solo Show,  May 
MK&G Museum,  (Hamburg, Germany)

Group Show, Soft Logic, February  
Lund Konsthall,  (Lund, Sweden)


2025 
Group Show, December 
The Kochi-Muziris Art Biennale, (Kochi, India)

Group Show, Deviant Ornaments, November                       
National Museum,  (Oslo, Norway) 

Group Show, Soft Logic October 
Tensta Konsthall, (Stockholm, Sweden)

Group Show, Haus of Fiber October 
Textile Museum, (Tillburg, The Netherlands)

Solo Show, Resilient Threads April 
TSSK, Hannah Ryggen Triannale, (Trondheim, Norway)

Solo Show, Sérénade enchantée: mélodie du refuge January 
Kunsthall, (Oslo, Norway)

Duo Show, January, August 
Looming, Looping at BO Oslo, and at Collega (Oslo, Norway and Copenhagen)


2024 
Group Show, Greenlight district, The Curse of an Unstoppable Appetite
Spriten Kunshall, (Skien, Norway)

Earthworks
Kunsthall Bergen, (Bergen, Norway)

Solo Show
Kunstnerforbundet, (Oslo, Norway)


2023
Solo Show, Sparebankstiftelsen DNBs stipendutstilling
Oslo Kunstforening, (Oslo, Norway)

Group Show
Nitja senter for samtidskunst, (Lillestrøm, Norway)

Group Show, The Annual Crafts Exhibition
Nation Museum, (Oslo, Norway)

Høstutstillingen Statens 136. kunstutstilling


2022
Group Show, The Queer Gaze II
Kode, (Bergen, Norway)

Group Show for Révélations International Biennial of
Crafts and Creation Grand Palais Ephemere, (Paris, France)


Fairs
2025 Art Toronto (Canada)

2024YOUNG TALENTS MK&G Fair (Germany)
Future Fair, New York (United States)
Talente - Masters of the Future (Germany)


Prizes
2024
Talente - Masters of the Future

2023  Norwegian Art Associations Debutante Prize
Visual Artists Aid Fund (BKH) scholarship Arts and crafts material-based


Residencies






















Dec 25- May 2026Artists in residency Fund for young Design
MK&G (Hamburg, Germany)

Jun 24- Jul 2025 Artists in residency research
Skien Kunstnerstipend (Skien, Norway)

Jun-Jul 2024 Artists in residency research
NKD (Dale, Norway)

April - May 2024 Textile Research and Creation
Textile Art Center (Quebec City, Canada)

Augt-June 2022 Artists whose work relates to textile media
Air Green, Søndre Green farm (NSD, Norway)

June-July 2022 Research on family and textiles archives
Institut Francais of Saint-Louis (Saint-Louis, Senegal)
Work Experience
2025
Artist Assistant of Kristin Lindberg (1 year)                     
Søndre Green, (Noresund, Norway)

2024
Tutorials as guest teacher for the Master’s in arts and Craft, Oslo National Academy of Art
2023Artist talk as guest teacher for the Master’s in arts and Craft, Oslo National Academy of Art

Artist talk as guest for Seminar in arts and Craft, Norwegian Craft at Oslo National Museum

Art Collection
2027
Ibsen Library, Skien Commune (Norway)

2026Regjeringskvartalet, Goverment new Headquarter (Norway)

Textile Museum Tillburg (The Netherlands)

2025Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum (Norway)

2024
Bamble skole, Bamble Municipality (Norway)
2023
Oslo Commune Art Collection  (Norway)
Instagram