Emmanuel Olunkwa

Emmanuel Olunkwa is a Nigerian-American multidisciplinary creative professional based in New York. His work spans art writing, editing, photography, design, filmmaking, publishing, and cultural programming. Although the name is also associated with a furniture and design practice, Olunkwa is principally known as an individual creative brand rather than as a conventional consumer-products company. His projects frequently examine the relationships among architecture, interiors, images, cultural institutions, and the social histories embedded in designed spaces. Olunkwa was born in 1994 and grew up in Los Angeles. During high school he developed an interest in photography, while the changing built environment of Los Angeles helped shape his interest in design and architecture. He observed the city’s real-estate development and elaborate residential remodels as evidence of how architecture can express identity, aspiration, and cultural change. He moved to New York in 2014 and studied liberal arts at Eugene Lang College of The New School, concentrating on race, art history, and architectural spatiality. During his final year he interned at MoMA PS1 as a curatorial intern and later joined Artforum, first as a fact-checking intern and subsequently as an editorial assistant working with editor-in-chief David Velasco. He continued his academic work at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, completing the M.S. program in Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices in 2021. His graduate thesis addressed the spatial dynamics of Slave Play, the theatre work by Jeremy O. Harris that examines race and sexuality. This background helped establish a practice that treats criticism, exhibition-making, publishing, and design as interconnected forms of cultural production. Olunkwa has written, interviewed, photographed, and produced editorial material for publications including The New York Times, Artforum, Interview, T Magazine, Architectural Digest, Dazed, Garage, Vogue, Cultured, and e-flux. His interviews have included artists and designers such as Jeff Koons, Glenn Ligon, and Marc Newson; curators including Thelma Golden and Hamza Walker; architects Rem Koolhaas and Mabel O. Wilson; musicians Oneohtrix Point Never and Devonté Hynes; and writers including Mary Gaitskill, Andrea Long Chu, Doreen St. Félix, and Sarah Schulman. His photography has appeared in editorial profiles, album covers, and book covers. In 2020 he helped establish several publishing and design initiatives. He co-founded The Broadcast, a Pioneer Works publication addressing art, music, science, and technology, and co-founded November Magazine with Lauren O’Neill-Butler. November Magazine is a nonprofit publication and programming platform focused on contemporary art and culture, with Dawn Chan and Aria Dean among its founding editors. In June 2020, he also founded E&Ko., a furniture and design line centered on chairs and floral-inspired pieces made from birch plywood. The work was shown in an art-world context alongside artists including Walter Price, Paul Chan, Wade Guyton, and Rachel Harrison, including a presentation connected with Greene Naftali in East Hampton, New York. From September 2021 through February 2024, Olunkwa served as editor of Pin-Up Magazine, the biannual architecture publication known for its concept of “architectural entertainment.” He succeeded founder Felix Burrichter as editor while Burrichter became creative and editorial director. Olunkwa’s first issue explored radical optimism and continued the magazine’s combination of architecture, fashion, art, and popular culture. In autumn 2021, he presented a capsule collection of design work for SSENSE. From September 2024 to 2025, Olunkwa led publishing and editorial at 52 Walker, David Zwirner’s Tribeca-based gallery. The role established an in-house publishing and editorial function for the gallery during its period as a permanent physical space. Acros…

Emmanuel Olunkwa was born in 1994 and raised in Los Angeles, where an early interest in photography developed during high school. The city’s changing real-estate landscape and the extensive remodeling of its homes also stimulated his interest in architecture, interiors, and design. In 2014 he moved to New York and enrolled at Eugene Lang College of The New School. He completed a B.A. in Liberal Arts with a concentration involving race, art history, and architectural spatiality. While completing his undergraduate studies, Olunkwa worked at MoMA PS1 as a curatorial intern. He later joined Artforum as a fact-checking intern and advanced to editorial assistant, assisting editor-in-chief David Velasco. These early roles placed him within both museum and magazine environments and helped shape his later combination of critical writing, editorial production, and visual culture. Olunkwa completed an M.S. in Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation in 2021. His graduate thesis considered the spatial dynamics of Slave Play, a work by Jeremy O. Harris concerned with race and sexuality. The research reflected his broader interest in how architecture, performance, social identity, and institutional contexts interact. His professional practice developed across editorial, photographic, and cultural fields. He interviewed artists, designers, curators, architects, musicians, and writers for a range of publications, including The New York Times, Artforum, Interview, T Magazine, and Architectural Digest. His photography appeared in Dazed, Garage, Vogue, Cultured, and e-flux, as well as on album and book covers and in magazine profiles. In 2020 Olunkwa co-founded The Broadcast, a Pioneer Works publication covering art, music, science, and technology. That year he also co-founded November Magazine with Lauren O’Neill-Butler. The nonprofit project combined publishing with programming around contemporary art and culture and included Dawn Chan and Aria Dean among its founding editors. In June 2020 Olunkwa founded E&Ko., a furniture line focused on chairs and floral-inspired birch-plywood objects. Its work was presented in proximity to contemporary art exhibitions and artists, including Walter Price, Paul Chan, Wade Guyton, and Rachel Harrison. In September 2021 Olunkwa became editor of Pin-Up Magazine. The appointment made him the publication’s second editor after founder Felix Burrichter. Burrichter became creative and editorial director, while Olunkwa guided the editorial direction of the biannual architecture and design magazine through February 2024. The first issue under his editorship addressed radical optimism and continued Pin-Up’s deliberately broad interpretation of architectural entertainment. In autumn 2021, Olunkwa also showed a design capsule through SSENSE. From September 2024 to 2025, he led publishing and editorial at 52 Walker, the David Zwirner gallery in Tribeca. The position created and developed an in-house publishing and editorial function for the gallery during its period as a permanent physical venue. Olunkwa remains associated with a New York-based, cross-disciplinary practice combining photography, writing, publishing, design, and filmmaking.

1. 2024Joins 52 Walker

   Olunkwa began leading publishing and editorial at 52 Walker in September.

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2. 2021Completes Columbia graduate degree

   Olunkwa completed an M.S. in Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

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3. 2021Becomes editor of Pin-Up Magazine

   He was appointed the second editor of Pin-Up Magazine in September.

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4. 2020Founding of E&Ko.

   Olunkwa founded E&Ko., a furniture and design line featuring chairs and floral-inspired birch-plywood pieces.

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5. 2020Co-founds November Magazine and The Broadcast

   He co-founded November Magazine and served as a founding editor of Pioneer Works’ The Broadcast.

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6. 2014Moves to New York

   Olunkwa moved from Los Angeles to New York and began his undergraduate studies at Eugene Lang College of The New School.

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7. 1994Birth

   Emmanuel Olunkwa was born and later raised in Los Angeles.

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A multidisciplinary creative practice situated between contemporary art, architecture, publishing, photography, and furniture design. Olunkwa’s work emphasizes critical writing, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the cultural meaning of designed spaces rather than mass-market product production.

• E&Ko.Furniture and collectible design2020

  E&Ko. is a furniture line founded by Olunkwa in 2020. Its known work includes chairs and floral-inspired pieces made from birch plywood. The objects were presented within contemporary-art and gallery contexts, reflecting a design approach that treats furniture as both functional equipment and a sculptural or cultural form.

• Photography practicePhotography

  Olunkwa’s photography has appeared in magazines and cultural publications including Dazed, Garage, Vogue, Cultured, and e-flux. His photographic work includes editorial profiles, album covers, and book covers, and operates alongside his writing and design practice.

• Editorial and publishing practicePublishing and editorial services2020

  Olunkwa produces interviews, criticism, editorial direction, and independent publishing projects focused on art, architecture, design, music, science, and technology. His editorial positions have included Pin-Up Magazine and 52 Walker, while his founding projects include November Magazine and The Broadcast.

• 2024Establishes publishing and editorial work at 52 WalkerStrategy

  52 Walker, a David Zwirner gallery in Tribeca, was operating as a permanent physical gallery space and required an in-house publishing and editorial function.

  What changed. Olunkwa led publishing and editorial at 52 Walker beginning in September 2024.

  Aftermath. His role extended his practice from independent and magazine publishing into gallery-based editorial and publishing production through 2025.

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• 2021Accepts editorship of Pin-Up MagazineOther

  Pin-Up Magazine was changing editorial leadership while retaining its broad interest in architecture, design, art, and popular culture.

  What changed. Olunkwa became the publication’s second editor, while founder Felix Burrichter assumed the position of creative and editorial director.

  Aftermath. The first issue under Olunkwa’s editorship explored radical optimism and continued the magazine’s concept of architectural entertainment.

  Source

• 2024Emmanuel Olunkwa leads publishing and editorial at 52 Walker

  Olunkwa took responsibility for publishing and editorial at 52 Walker, establishing the gallery’s in-house publishing and editorial role during its period as a permanent brick-and-mortar space.

  Leadership change
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• 2021Emmanuel Olunkwa appointed editor of Pin-Up Magazine

  Olunkwa became the second editor of Pin-Up Magazine, succeeding founder Felix Burrichter, who moved into the role of creative and editorial director.

  Leadership change
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• 2021Emmanuel Olunkwa presents a design capsule with SSENSE

  Olunkwa presented a new capsule collection of design work for SSENSE in the autumn of 2021.

  Product launch
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1. Emmanuel Olunkwa
2. Emmanuel Olunkwa Studio