Check Out The 10 artists Otumfuo Asantehene Honoured
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Check Out Why Otumfuo Asantehene Honoured 10 Artists including Prof. Glover
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei II, has honoured 10 renowned artists at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on May 23, 2025, as part of the 2025 Inaugural Artist Laureates programme, themed “Our Old Masters”.
The distinguished awardees include El Anatsui, a renowned Ghanaian sculptor and artist, Professor Ato Delaquis, the last Dean of the College before it was re-named College of Art and Built Environment, and Francis Kwatei Nee-Owoo of Touch of Bronze, the gallerist. Others are Frances Ademola of The Loom, the folklore princess, painter, collector, and author, Peggy Appiah; the public artist, Kwame Akoto in Kumasi, Melanie Kasise, founder of the Sirigu Women Organization for Pottery and Art in the Upper East, and Professor Ablade Glover, founder of the Artists Alliance Gallery in Accra. These are the awardees.
The ceremony, held in collaboration with the Manhyia Palace and UNESCO, celebrated the artists’ lifetime contributions to African art and history, with the aim of inspiring a new generation of practitioners in both traditional and digital arts. This milestone event marks the launch of a decade-long initiative to recognise and honour industry leaders, while inspiring professionals, including those in digital arts.
In his address, Otumfuo Osei II highlighted the pivotal role art has played in shaping Ghanaian societies, particularly among ethnic groups, from pre-colonial times to the present. “Art, as we know it, played a critical and functional role in the formation of societies and among virtually all the ethnic groups in Ghana from pre-colonial times through the cultural imperialism that followed and our terms of a nation from 1957,” he said. “Our first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, used it to unify this country and supported some of the great artists we came to know and who defined vision for us, the symbol of our new independence.”
The ceremony drew dignitaries, including the Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori-Agyemang Boadi, representing the Ashanti Regional Minister, the European Union Ambassador to Ghana, HE Irchad Razaaly, and envoys from ten embassies, alongside a host of other esteemed guests. The event is expected to attract policymakers and art enthusiasts from countries such as Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, and a delegation from the Republic of Seychelles.
In attendance were the Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori-Agyemang Boadi, representing the Ashanti Regional minister, UNESCO and the European Union Ambassador to Ghana, HE Irchad Razaaly and envoys from ten embassies and a host of dignitaries.
The event seeks to attract policymakers and art enthusiasts from Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, and a delegation from the Republic of Seychelles.
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