Eugene Ankomah (born 8 June 1978) is a

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

British

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

visual artist of

Ghanaian 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 ...

descent, with an art career that has spanned more than eighteen years.

Early life

Born and raised in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, Ankomah spent his early childhood living in

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 ...

with his parents and four siblings, before his family relocated to the United Kingdom in 1990. He attended Willesden High School in 1991 now known as Capital City Academy, He then studied at

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of sho ...

, before going on to earn a bachelor's degree in Illustration and Fine Art at the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

.Isaac Amo-Kyereme
"EUGENE ANKOMAH – 'An artist of incredible talent'"
''African Echo'', Volume 46.

Awards and prizes

At the age of 17, Ankomah became the first ever recipient of the Peter Evans Award, awarded by his school for best student, winning a prize fund of £900 as part of the prize. He has been awarded from The Apthorp Fund for Young Artists (which he won twice in 1999 and 2002), Urban Tension' Prize and Contemporary Portraits' Prize.

Shows and exhibitions

'Icarus and Amadeus' Tribal Sculpture, Eugene Ankomah

To date, Ankomah has taken part in more than 90 shows and exhibitions. He was chosen by the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) – then chaired by Melvyn Bragg (presenter of ITV's ''

The South Bank Show ''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, ...

'' and long-time broadcaster) – to showcase his work in a 2003 major solo show entitled ''The Birth'' at London's

Carnaby Street Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in Soho in the City of Westminster, Central London. Close to Oxford Street and Regent Street, it is home to fashion and lifestyle retailers, including many independent fashion boutiques. S ...

. In 2008, Ankomah took part in a group show entitled ''An Expo of Artful Dodgers''Artful
Artful Festival among a list of UK visual artists. He was part of a selected group of artists described as "the cream of up-and-coming talent" by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''. During this period Ankomah took part in several other group shows, including ''Graffiti Express''Graffiti Express @ The Gallery
Graffiti Express' Show (which he curated), an experimental group show which took place at The Wall at the Gallery in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

Green.

Commissions and projects

In 2002 Ankomah was one of a group of artists that worked on a flag for Buckingham Palace in honour of the

Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...

. In 2010 his works were part of a Coalition Government Christmas card.

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankomah, Eugene Living people 1978 births Contemporary sculptors 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters Black British artists Painters from London Alumni of Central Saint Martins Alumni of the University of Westminster English people of Ghanaian descent 20th-century British sculptors English male sculptors 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists