About Sharon Obuobi

Sharon Obuobi is an entrepreneur, art writer and curator with a passion for art, business and technology. She is the Founder, CEO of Alt/Finance - a pioneering New York-based fintech company that is transforming how artists, collectors and institutions unlock the financial liquidity of their art assets.

Alt/Finance partners with the top US banks to introduce an art financing service that helps artists, collectors and foundation access more funds for re-investment. The company manages the entire process from developing project objectives with you, selecting art, and working with multiple institutional lenders to get you the best offers. With proprietary data across both public and private markets, Alt/Finance helps clients uncover financing opportunities in both bank and non-bank lending channels. Alt/Finance has already secured partnerships with major financial institutions through the FinTech Innovation Lab NYC, validating our innovative approach to art-backed financing.

Born into a family of artists, Sharon graduated from the Commerce program at the prestigious Smith School of Business in Canada. With her business background, she pursued the arts working with international galleries and institutions including Creative Time NYC, Studio Museum in Harlem, Art Twenty One, Alison Milne Gallery, the Dak’Art Biennale, and Invisible Borders. From there in 2016, she joined Sotheby’s as a founding member of the new Modern & Contemporary African Art Business department in London, where she spent two years brokering key business partnerships and channels for art consignments from West Africa which led to 25 new world record sales prices for artists.

Sharon is the creator of the podcast “In Studio with Sharon Obuobi’’ which is a series containing stories of artists, fellow curators and influencers, and each episode is designed to inspire a conversation challenging new perspectives and ways to look at the world through art. The podcast has featured interviews with guests including Lina Iris Viktor, Ibrahim Mahama, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serge Attukwei Clottey, Nengi Omuku, Simon Njami, Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga, Victor Ehikhamenor and Phoebe Boswell. IN STUDIO ran an 8 week special on LagosTalks radio station in 2018.

Sharon was recognized with a top 40 under 40 feature by Apollo magazine in 2022. She has been featured on CNN, Arise TV, the Financial Times, Virgin Magazine, NKA Journal, IRAAA Journal, Konbini, and i Paper.

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IN STUDIO,  presents a series of conversations with artists, curators and influencers, and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Soundcloud.

Press Features
These include CNN, the Financial Times, Virgin Magazine, Tush Magazine Nigeria, NKA Journal, IRAAA Journal, Konbini, i Paper, and Black Girl Nerds.