When Emida Roller says that art is in her blood, it’s not a figure of speech. She had the good fortune to be mentored by her father, the renowned Nigerian artist Solomon Irein Wangboje.

Emida remembers sitting at her father’s feet as a very young girl, watching him create his masterpieces in his studio. She never considered any path other than following in his footsteps, and developed her own unique style along the way.

After high school, Emida received her formal training at the University of Benin, Nigeria, in Fine and Applied Arts. Always the adventurous one, she left her home country and family behind and came back to her birth country to complete her studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, obtaining her Masters of Fine Art (MFA) and a Masters of Art in art education (MA).

In 2003 Emida started her mural painting business, Wall Designs by Emida, LLC (now Emida Roller Productions, LLC). The buzz about her work spread quickly, and since then Emida has painted standout murals for both individual and commercial clients. She’s also painted numerous homes in the Madison Area Builders Association Parade of Homes.

For 6 years, Emida was one of the lead artists at DAMA (Developing Artists Murals and Alliances) in Madison, WI. She was the Executive Director for almost 2 years before leaving Madison. DamaWI.org

Emida is one of The Walldogs, they hand paint history one town at a time.

The New England region created a new adventure for 3 years. As a RiseUP for Arts creative team member, she painted murals across the state of Connecticut, notably the MLK39 Racial Equity Tour murals.

Currently, she is beautifying walls and working with communities in the southeastern region of the U.S.

You can find out more and view more of her work on her Facebook page and Instagram.