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Isaac Opoku wins 2017 Kuenyehia Prize For Contemporary Ghanaian Art

The 2017 Kuenyehia Prize For Contemporary Ghanaian Art took place on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at The Octagon in Accra.

Professor Ablade Glover presenting the award to Isaac Opoku

The event which was attended by Professor Ablade Glover and many other dignitaries saw an impressive display of art at The Octagon in Accra, Ghana.

The 25-year-old beat 138 other entries to stand out for the third edition of the competition.

Opoku, who tried to apply last year but could not due to his age said he was grateful for the honour.

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“This is huge for me. As Professor Ablade Glover was saying, it is rare in this part of the world to find an organization or a group of people who see value in art and the way they want to support it and push it to another level.

“To be part of the small club of people who have won this prize, to be part of the Kweh art prize in general, it is an honour and I’m grateful to be here. I’m happy that everybody is here supporting art in their own small way,” Isaac said.

Talking about the work that won him the prize, Isaac Opoku said:

“It borrows from this Yuroba concept called ‘Ashe’ which talks about the life energy that allows anything to exist. I extracted this idea, blended in a little bit of African symbolism, African writing system, and stuff I was studying on my own to come up with a unique visual language.”

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Theresa Onkoma and Andrews Torson were the first and second runner-ups in the 2017 Kuenyehia Prize For Contemporary Ghanaian Art, taking home a cash prize of GHS 2,500 each.

The catalogue for the 2017 entries was auctioned at GHS 3000 and GHS 5000 on the night.

About the Kuenyehia Prize

Founded by Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia in 2014, the objective of the Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Ghanaian Art is to identify, reward and help develop Ghana’s outstanding artists between the ages of 25 and 40. Nominations are submitted each year, and the prize is judged by an independent jury. Ten artists are shortlisted, with an overall winner and two runners-up selected by the Jury. The Prize provides tailored mentoring, personal development and business coaching to help develop the artists and their practice.

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