All posts by hypelordsgh
‘People cry, get angry’: remembering the enslaved in Ghana’s remarkable sculpture park
Kwame Akoto-Bamfo started by shaping one clay head in 2009. Now thousands are displayed at the Nykyinkyim Museum, each representing an African who was lost to slavery. Photographs by Keelson Studio By Sarah Johnson At the end of a sandy path, lined with bamboo trees, lies a clearing with thousands of clay head sculptures. One is…
Artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo revives endangered art forms at Nkyinkyim Museum
Before the invention of the modern camera, the Akans, one of the largest and predominant ethnic groups in Ghana, documented family portraits of the deceased through sculpture. For generations, this practice served as a culturally significant commemoration of African ancestors until colonialism disrupted the art form and the practice of Ancestor Veneration was misrepresented and…
The Lost Ancestors
Set in Ghana and in Montgomery, Alabama, The Lost Ancestors is the story of an African artist whose work reckons with the enduring legacy of slavery in Africa among Africans today. Ghanaian sculptor and activist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo grew up near the ocean in Ghana—ground zero of the slave trade. He’d heard stories from his elders…
Kwame Akoto-Bamfo: ‘You See The Faces Of Our Ancestors
Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, a Ghanaian sculptor, is using his skills to create the Ancestor Project – portraits of Africans who were imprisoned, kidnapped or coerced into slavery. Using the ancient Akan tradition of creating portraits of the dead, Kwame wants to show people how great their community was before slavery. https://youtu.be/g1OswEwLMMM?si=geojJ3gKTRaOFuJe Video producer: Sulley Lansah Content…