UNLIMITED III: The African Family – Group Show

Gallery 1957 presents the third iteration of its mainstay group exhibition ‘UNLIMITED III: The African Family’ opening 23rd May, Third Floor, Galleria Mall, Accra, Ghana. The first and second iteration of this monumental group exhibition took place respectively in 2022 and 2023. Both editions, curated by Gallery 1957’s founder director Marwan Zakhem, invited artists from across the continent and the diaspora to produce specific works across all media to engage with the 1,400-square-metre of unfinished industrial space. The latest edition of the group show will be centred around the theme of The African Family, and what this means for us as artists and individuals in these uncertain times.

The exhibiting artists include Kofi Agorsor, Cornelius Annor, Rita Mawuena Benissan, Amoako Boafo, Kwesi Botchway, Gerald Chukwuma, Kelvin Haizel, Isshaq Ismail, Yaw Owusu, Thania Petersen, Afia Prempeh, and Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe.

In the contemporary context, the concept of the African Family is a multifaceted and evolving idea that reflects the complexities of African societies. Today, the African Family extends beyond biological relations to include chosen families, communities, and networks of support. None more so apparent then the artist-led ecosystem that can be found thriving in Ghana. The Black figuration movement finds a home base in Ghana and some of the game-changers are exploring the contemporary representation of African selfhood with distinctive style.

From the bold portraits by Amoako Boafo, Kwesi Botchway and Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe which confer power onto their subjects through their piercing gaze, to the illuminating familial scenes accented with traditional fabric by Cornelius Annor. Collectively, these painters set their figures in environments which uplift their sense of purpose and disrupt monolithic understandings of African life, encouraging nuanced responses to moments frozen in time.

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