President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will grace the maiden  Ghana National Pavillion at the 58th Venice International Art Biennale, from 11 May – 24 November 2019.

The Ghana Pavilion,which will be curated by art historian Nana Ofosuaa Oforiatta Ayim, is under the patronage of Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and advised by Okwui Enwezer.

Sir David Adjaye OBE will design the architecture for the event  that is supported by ministry of tourism.

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Entitled “Ghana Freedom,” after the song composed by E.T. Mensah on the eve of the independence of the new nation in 1957, the pavilion examines the legacies and trajectories of that freedom by six artists, across three generations.

Rooted both in Ghanaian culture and its diasporas, the pavilion exhibition will include large-scale installations by El Anatsui and Ibrahim Mahama; representation and portraiture by prominent photographer Felicia Abban and painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye; and a three-channel film projection by John Akomfrah and a video sculpture by Selasi Awusi Sosu.

Situated in the Artiglierie of the historic Arsenale, the Ghanaian pavilion will be an important addition to the event. Each artist will exhibit in elliptically-shaped interconnected spaces, which draw inspiration, and are plastered with locally-sourced earth, from classical structures in Ghana.

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In addition, the Ghana Pavilion exhibition will include a publication with a preface by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; foreword by Honorable Catherine Afeku, and contributions by Sir David Adjaye, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Nana Oforiatta Ayim, Okwui Enwezor, Taiye Selasi, Hakeem Adam, Adjoa Armah, Mae-ling Lokko, Kuukuwa Manful, Larry Ossei-Mensah, and Mavis Tetteh-Ocloo.

 Lynette Yiadom-boakye Ghana Pavilion

There will be a series of platforms during the 58th International Art Exhibition in Venice, and “Ghana Freedom” will travel from Venice to Accra after the closure of the Exhibition in November.