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Contemporary Ghanaian art on the rise with Kuenyehia Prize
Art is beautiful. The Kuenyehia Prize For Contemporary Ghanaian Art is making it more beautiful in Ghana with a means of empowering and aiming to further highlight the growth of the art ecosystem in Ghana for young artists.
Professor Ablade Glover presenting the award to Isaac Opoku
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So when the opportunity presented itself in the competition’s third edition after Isaac had turned 25, he was not going to let it slip by.
“I tried to apply last year but I wasn’t 25 years old. I turned 25 this year so I decided to give it a shot,” Isaac Opoku, winner of the 2017 Kuenyehia Prize For Contemporary Ghanaian Art explains.
The 25-year-old love for art developed from his desire to make things, Isaac says.
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“It (love for art) developed from my love for making things. When I was young, I was putting things together, creating objects and others. It kind of naturally evolved into loving to create images, paintings, and drawings, trying to mimic the cartoons I was watching. My love for making got me into making arts.”
The Kuenyehia Prize which was established in 2014 under The Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art, a private not-for-profit trust, seeks to make a contribution to Ghana’s art ecosystem, inspiring outstanding Ghanaian artists to continue to pursue their dreams with passion and excellence, both locally and internationally.
The 2017 edition of the competition had 139 entries.
Isaac calls his submission ‘unorthodox’ in the sense that he submitted a work in progress. A piece that is still evolving in front of public eyes.
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The winner of the 2017 Kuenyehia Prize For Contemporary Ghanaian Art is, however, grateful for this ‘huge’ honour.
Speaking of his win on a night that saw beautiful artworks on display, Isaac told Pulse.com.gh:
“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 Kuenyehia 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 Opoku explains the concept of his work that beat the other 138 entries saying:
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“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, stuff I was studying on my own to come up with a unique visual language.”
It is worth noting that Isaac’s brilliant skills come from his love to create things and not his education background.
The 25-year-old who has Economics and Statistics background reveals he has not officially enrolled for a formal training in art. Simply, self-taught.
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“I didn’t study arts in school. I have a background in economics and statistics. I just have a passion, using my hands, creating, sculpture, innovating. Whatever it is, bringing art to life. There’s no formal training in that sense. I’ve taken classes here and there but it is mostly self-taught.”
Isaac Opoku took home a cash prize of GHS 20, 000 with first runner-up Theresa Ankomah and second runner Andrew Torsu taking home GHS 2,500 each.
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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