FAIRHOPE, Ala. — “Momma, he looks like an angel,” exclaimed a 9-year-old Fairhope boy recently.

To encounter Ibiyinka Alao from Nigeria, Africa is an experience. And when seen in his native dress, white and flowing, indeed some could claim Ibiyinka looks like an angel.

Born on Oct. 17, 1975 in Nigeria, Ibiyinka has become a world-acclaimed messenger of peace. As an artist, his vibrant paintings help him to articulate that message when words are sometimes not enough.

He won global recognition in 2001 when he entered his painting titled “Girls and a Greener Environment” in the prestigious United Nation’s International Art Competition, winning first place out of 300 entries from 60 countries. As a result, Nigeria awarded him the honorary title of “Art Ambassador” for his country. At that time, he was working as an architect in IL’orin after receiving his degree from the University of Ile-Ife Nigeria.

With the newly awarded title, Ibiyinka found himself on a whirlwind tour that has spanned the planet. He has exhibited over 400 paintings in a broad list of countries and places — The Harvard Business School, Indianapolis Art Center, the Martin Luther King Art Center, the Empire State Building and the United Nations headquarters, to name a few in our own country.

His paintings are full of life, color and visions from his heart. Ibiyinka strives to offer us visual passage into his painted stories using his African homeland, its villages and people as treasured subjects. By 2003, Ibiyinka’s art got the attention of the UN. His message of peace, love and cultural harmony between all people was found to be communicated so effectively that he was awarded the title “Ambassador of Peace” for the United Nations Population Fund.

Now he travels the world from universities and grade schools to libraries and community centers. You may find him in the New York Bronx, teaching a workshop to children, lecturing at a college or even exhibiting in our own Arts and Crafts event as he was invited to do in 2009 by the Eastern Shore Art Center. That was one of many engagements Ibiyinka took part in around the Gulf Coast.

While displaying his paintings at the festival last March, Ibiyinka made a special connection with a native Fairhope man. Now he is back, hosted by that family and working with museums and schools from Pensacola to Mobile. He enjoyed the time spent last year with Bayside Academy, Fairhope High School, Fairhope Elementary and the K-1 Center. He recently took time to conduct a workshop with Mr. McDuff’s third-grade class at FES.

Ibiyinka invites the public and welcomes his area friends, old and new, to a free presentation titled “One Night of Grace, an African Celebration.” This event will be hosted and held at the Fairhope Public Library Giddens Conference Center, Monday evening, Feb. 1. This will be a two-part program.

Beginning at 4:30 pm., he will feature the artwork of local children he has worked with as well as works of his own. Parents, families and friends are encouraged to stop by between 4:30 and 6.

At 6:30, Ibiyinka will give a 45-minute presentation, sharing insights on an international level, focusing on the United Nations, uplifting views of peace, art and its ability to communicate across borders.