Amoako Boafo - Dot.Ateliers ― Von der Portraitmalerei zum neuen Zentrum für Zeitgenössische Malerei in Ghana︱Carina Hafer García
Amoako Boafo Dot.Ateliers
(for English version see below)
Von der Portraitmalerei zum neuen Zentrum für Zeitgenössische Malerei in Ghana
From Portrait Painting to the New Centre for Contemporary Painting in Ghana
Passionate about painting, contemporary artist Amoako Boafo (born 1984 in Accra, Ghana) dedicates himself to “Painting a different kind of portrait”.
“The primary idea of my practice is representation, documenting, celebrating and showing new ways to approache blackness”, as Boafo emphasizes. He portrays people from the diaspora and beyond, people he likes, who inspire him and who create open spaces and opportunities. When he began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Boafo was confronted with the question “Why he paints black people”. He had previously graduated from the Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Accra in 2007. “Noting inspiration from great masters of Classical portraiture, the new works emphasize the notion of freedom in a society which holds preconceived notions concerning identity”, says Boafo. In Vienna, he received the Walter Koschatzky Art Prize in 2017 and the STRABAG Artaward International in 2019. In the wake of this, his works have sold for high prices on the international art market and he cooperated with Dior for their men's collection in summer 2021.
With his success, Amoako Boafo established the Dot.Ateliers studio and residency project in Accra, which opened on 17 December 2022. The building was designed by architect Sir David Adjaye and was built sustainably. Dot.Ateliers has the vision to serve as an ecological place with an awareness of responsibility as well as for the community. Amoako Boafo wants to support young artists from Ghana and give them options that he himself did not have. He says “If there were more opportunities for artists, people wouldn't automatically think they can only make it if they go to Europe. For example, if there were more art spaces in Ghana, I wouldn't have thought of coming to Europe.” At Dot.Ateliers, ten artists come together to form a community. They dedicate themselves to painting portraits. The artist Crystal Yayra Anthony says, “We were simply not visible before. Now we can celebrate our bodies and our expression. We no longer want to be stigmatized as victims or problem cases. We are all about showing that our blood is red too!”
Poster Text (f.l.t.r.)
“The primary idea of my practice is representation, documenting, celebrating and showing new ways to approache blackness”, as Boafo emphasizes.
1984 born in Accra, Ghana
2007 Diploma, Ghanatta College of Art and Design, Accra
2017 Walter-Koschatzky Artaward, Wien
2019 STRABAG Artaward International, Wien
2021 Cooperation with Dior
2022 Launch of Dot.Ateliers, Accra
“Noting inspiration from great masters of Classical portraiture, the new works emphasize the notion of freedom in a society which holds preconceived notions concerning identity”, says Boafo.
When he began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Boafo was confronted with the question “Why he paints black people”.
He says, “If there were more opportunities for artists, people wouldn't automatically think they can only make it if they go to Europe. For example, if there were more art spaces in Ghana, I wouldn't have thought of coming to Europe.”
Dot.Ateliers launched December 2022 in Accra. It is a studio and residency place where Amoako Boafo offers young artists from his home country new perspectives for a life as an artist.
The artist Crystal Yayra Anthony says, “We were simply not visible before. Now we can celebrate our bodies and our expression. We no longer want to be stigmatized as victims or problem cases. We are all about showing that our blood is red too!”
The building was designed by architect Sir David Adjaye and was built sustainably.
Literatur
Vgl. Dot.Ateliers, Dot.Ateliers Launch. Press Release, Accra 2022, zugänglich über: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QIqSJ4Fn15icGSgmDGBXp2cbxd836LXq/view oder https://www.dotateliers.space/press-release (letzter Zugriff: 22.05.2023).
Ibrahim, Mariane, Amoako Boafo, Chicago 2021.
Roland, Gabriel, Collectors Agenda, In the Studio. Amoako Boafo, Wien 2019, zugänglich über: https://www.collectorsagenda.com/de/in-the-studio/amoako-boafo (letzter Zugriff: 22.05.2023).
Valentine, Victoria L., Amoako Boafo is Latest Young Black Artist to Make Major Auction Debut, o.O. 2020, zugänglich über: https://www.culturetype.com/2020/02/11/amoako-boafo-is-latest-young-black-artist-to-make-major-auction-debut/ (letzter Zugriff: 22.05.2023).
Von Böhm, Felix, Amoako Boafo Atelierhaus in Accra. „Wir waren bisher einfach nicht sichtbar“, o.O. 2022, zugänglich über: https://www.monopol-magazin.de/amoako-boafo-dot-ateliers-accra-ghana (letzter Zugriff: 22.05.2023).
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