New York · Dakar
Cultural & Creative Strategist

Ayofemi
Kirby

Cultural IntelligenceAesthetic IntelligenceArtificial IntelligencePersonal IntelligenceElevenThirtySixGalerie36Academy36FoundationalWorks in ProgressCultural IntelligenceAesthetic IntelligenceArtificial IntelligencePersonal IntelligenceElevenThirtySixGalerie36Academy36FoundationalWorks in Progress
01 — Background & Approach

Strategist, advisor, founder.

For twenty years — across culture, communications, civic life, and senior institutional advisory — I've helped cultural and creative leaders think more clearly about who they are, how they see the world, and how to understand their work as their greatest creative asset.

I work holistically and from the idea outward: clarifying how an organization creates and sustains meaning true to its communities, then translating that into communications, content, and presence that is consistent, elevated, and gets to the heart of the work.

Based between New York and Dakar, I move between strategy and aesthetics — counsel, curation, and the design of spaces that hold beauty, depth, and meaning.

2005

Two decades in culture, communications & institutional advisory begin.

'20s

Starts ElevenThirtySix — a cultural practice for institutions and brands.

2025

Opens Galerie36, a contemporary African art house in Dakar.

2025

Launches the podcast — now Foundational — and Works in Progress.

2026

Academy36, a digital academy for creative leadership. Opening soon.

Now

Advising a select number of institutions and brands each year.

Ayofemi Kirby
RoleStrategist · Advisor · Founder
BasedNew York · Dakar
PracticesElevenThirtySix · Galerie36 · Academy36
EducationUNC · American · Harvard
CertificatesDuke · Sotheby's Institute
02 — How I See & Work

The four intelligences.

The four ways of knowing it takes to build a body of work — and a life — that is unmistakably your own.

I

Cultural Intelligence

Reading the shifts that determine how work is received — anticipating emerging expectations, and how meaning is formed in public life.

II

Aesthetic Intelligence

The discernment to center beauty, depth, and form — and to design presence that is elevated, coherent, and true.

III

Artificial Intelligence

Using new tools with intention — as a creative collaborator that extends the work without flattening the voice inside it.

IV

Personal Intelligence

The work beneath the work: knowing yourself as your greatest creative asset, and leading from that as the foundation for all your work.

03 — The Practice

Where cultural intelligence is competitive advantage.

Through ElevenThirtySix, I bring strategic counsel to the organizations shaping global cultural life — and the brands building meaning in multicultural markets.

20
Years across culture & institutions
3
A practice, a gallery, an academy
NY↔DKR
New York & Dakar
30+
Institutions & artists advised

Selected partners include The Africa Center, International Center of Photography, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, A+E Networks, Socrates Sculpture Park, MAP Fund, Cave Canem, Dance NYC, The Laundromat Project, Museum Hue, Sony Pictures, Kehinde Wiley, Mickalene Thomas, Japan Society, and the New York Public Library.

The Conviction

"Culture structures how meaning is formed, how values are expressed, and how futures are imagined."

04 — The Paths

One practitioner. Three paths.

I

ElevenThirtySix

A Cultural Practice

Strategic counsel for the institutions and brands shaping global cultural life. Promote, preserve, present — narrative architecture, institutional positioning, and leadership voice.

Visit →
II

Galerie36

An African Art House · Dakar

A contemporary art house rooted in Dakar and open to the world — presenting African and diasporic artists through exhibitions, conversations, and gatherings.

Visit →
III

Academy36

by Ayofemi Kirby · Opening Soon

A digital academy for creative leadership, grounded in the four intelligences. The full stack for the person inside the work — a creative life, on your own terms.

Visit →
05 — Listen & Read

Perspective, insight, reflection.

Foundational podcast

Foundational

The Podcast · by Ayofemi Kirby

Conversations on building, leading, and loving a creative life.

Works in Progress

The Newsletter · by Ayofemi Kirby

Long-form essays on culture, creativity, and how we choose to live and lead.

Subscribe →
Stay Connected

Join the list.

Notes on culture, creativity, and the work of building a creative life — direct to your inbox.

06 — Contact & Availability

Every engagement begins with a conversation.

I work with a small number of institutions and brands each year through ElevenThirtySix. If you're navigating a strategic question and this work resonates, I'd welcome the chance to speak.

Start a Conversation