Bright Tetteh Ackwerh is a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian satirical artist who employs the domains of popular art, street art, painting, and illustration to voice and document his persuasions. He has exhibited widely in Ghana and

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

, building a niche as an emerging contemporary Ghanaian artist on the West African art scene.

Early life

Born in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, Ghana, Bright attended

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Non-denominational Christianity, non-denominational Day School, day and Boarding School, boarding Single-sex education, boys' school. It is located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region. The school was establishe ...

and studied Visual Arts for his senior high school education, before proceeding to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to study for BFA and MFA degrees in painting. He completed his first degree in 2011 and served as a teaching assistant the following year.

Career

He began by exhibiting his artworks via social media and also painting on wall murals in the streets of Accra. He has featured in many art exhibitions in Ghana and abroad. Some these include: Art X Lagos Exhibition in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, blockbuster exhibitions by Blaxtarlines in

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

and the

Chale Wote Street Art Festival The Chale Wote Street Art Festival also known as Chale Wote is an alternative platform that brings art, music, dance and performance out into the streets. The festival targets exchanges between scores of local and international artists and patr ...

in Accra. In 2016, he won the Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Ghanaian Art at an event held at the Ringway Estates in Accra. Bright has through the years used social media in sharing his works and provoking ''powerful'' sentiments around the themes he explores in his illustrations and paintings. He has also participated in group shows in Accra,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In October 2017 he featured in the October edition of

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

''African Voices''. He was also on the

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

L'Atelier Art Competition's 2017 list of top 10 artists.

Style

His style is a satirical re-presentation of Ghanaian sociopolitical and religious issues in an incisive manner that provokes conversations, sparks debate and elicits response. He draws huge inspiration from

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

and other great African heroes as the subject of his works depict the unapologetic manner in relaying his messages. He believes the music culture has a certain power to influence and inspire people and there's always the use of double and triples entendre that provide entry points into some of the discussions that the artwork generates.

Awards

*In 2016 Bright Ackwerh won the Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Ghanaian Art award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackwerh, Bright Living people Ghanaian artists Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni Alumni of the Accra Academy Year of birth missing (living people) Ghanaian male artists