The following Q&A appeared in Modern Painters’ August issue, which profiles the world’s top galleries of 2016. ARTINFO will be publishing the articles from this issue over the next few days. Click here to see related stories from the issue. To find all our coverage of the 500 Best Galleries Worldwide, as well as ARTINFO’s top picks for the best in visual arts, architecture and design, performing arts, lifestyle, and culture and travel, visit our Top Lists page.Best Galleries //AfricaGallery 1957 | Accra, GhanaLaunched earlier this year by Lebanese-born construction-industry heavyweight Marwan Zakhem, Gallery 1957 is striving to provide a forum for Ghanaian artists to show (and sell) their work in their home country. Sited in the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, the gallery represents local artists like experimental photographer Zohra Opoku and sculptor Serge Attukwei Clottey, known for cutting and combining everyday objects into lush tapestries. We spoke with Zakhem about his mission.How did you get your start in the art world, and what inspired you to open your own gallery?I started buying art when I moved to Africa 15 years ago for my work. As a collector, you can’t help but become more interested in visual arts and the process of making art. I began building relationships with artists, and it was at that point that I started thinking about taking the next step. I decided to found the gallery to support, complement, and highlight the art scene that already exists in Ghana. Many of the artists the gallery is working with have become increasingly visible on the institutional circuits of museums and biennials but
do not have gallery representation at home.Can you explain a bit about the significance of the gallery’s name?It is named for the year Ghana gained independence from colonial rule. In choosing a name, I wanted something powerful and easily identifiable with Ghanaian history and culture.It seems that your major focus is to provide a way for collectors in Ghana to begin acquiring work made by artists from Ghana, rather than having those artists selling work primarily abroad or on the international art fair circuit. How would you describe the collecting community in Ghana itself?I think community is the right word. There is a community of people who are highly interested in and appreciative of art, and while for now there are only a handful of established collectors, naturally as the scene evolves, there will be more people who wish to start. I am a strong believer that the best markets are where there is a local appreciation and the gallery aims to play a role in helping develop this. We saw a lot of interest from Ghanaians in collecting Clottey’s work, and that was encouraging. It is our ambition to cultivate and grow this collecting community over time.What other resources or venues currently exist for the artistic community in Ghana?We have a highly respected art school in Kumasi, Ghana’s second city, at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (known as KNUST), renowned for producing ambitious artists such as Ibrahim Mahama, Ablade Glover, and El Anatsui. Gallery 1957 artists Yaw Owusu and Jeremiah Quarshie studied there, and some very interesting performance artists are currently at the school, like Bernard Akoi-Jackson.We work with Ano, a cultural research initiative founded by our creative director, Nana Oforiatta Ayim; our opening exhibition by Clottey, “My Mother’s Wardrobe,” was a result of his residency there. Through Ano, Ayim has explored ideas of narratives and identity, aiming to challenge current historiographies as well as transform social contexts while theorizing about art from Africa within Africa. Also, the Nubuke Foundation is one of the most important organizations in the city and promotes Ghanaian visual arts and other forms of culture. They are very nurturing of young artists and have a real spirit of collaboration, often working with other organizations, like KNUST and the University of Ghana.Can you tell us about some of the work
in your personal collection? What would be a dream acquisition?My collection includes works by Ablade Glover, Kofi Agorsor, Hakajaka, Krotteh Teteh, and Jimoh Buraimoh, as well as the younger artists like Serge Attukwei Clottey, Zohra Opoku, Ibrahim Mahama, Yaw Owusu, and Quarshie. If I had to choose one acquisition, I would settle for Monet’s “Water Lilies” series. I first saw the exhibition in the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris in 2011, and it was stunning. I remember being completely mesmerized by these large landscapes that adorned the walls of the two elliptical-shaped rooms that housed them. That is what great art can do to you.When’s a good time to visit Ghana?In August we have an annual street art festival, Chale Wote, that takes over the Accra neighborhood of Jamestown with art, music, dance, and performances, organized by Accra dot Alt. Around 200 artists take part, and more than 10,000 people attend. This really is something special, and it’s worth visiting Ghana specifically for this event.Art from Africa has been on the ascendant as of late—for example, the “Focus: African Perspectives” section at the 2016 Armory Show in New York. Are there any other international developments in this regard that have inspired you?The curatorial rewiring of contemporary African art on a global scale has been happening for several decades now. As it should be, we now increasingly see artists from Africa presented alongside the work of their international peers, and they are no longer defined just by their continent but by the quality of their work. Okwui Enwezor’s Venice Biennale last year was inspiring, as was
Koyo Kouoh’s edition of
eva International in Ireland. Obviously, the art fair 1:54, initiated by Touria El
Glaoui in 2013 in London and now also taking place in New York, has also been successful in exposing the works of the continent. I would, however, like to see something like 1:54 not only in London and America, but also on the African continent. It is important that we get the
art world to the places where
these artists gain their inspiration.Is there a prevailing spirit or aesthetic that, in your mind, unites some of the work currently being produced in Ghana?There are some very talented artists in Ghana whose work embraces
a freedom of self-expression and reflects the society of our time. The work being created here is very exciting, emotive, and often experimental. Beyond that, we’re seeing that most of the young artists use their art as a platform to raise awareness of social and political issues that currently exist in their communities.What exhibitions do you have coming up?We have a solo exhibition by painter Jeremiah Quarshie, “Yellow is the Colour of Water.” He makes large-scale hyperrealistic portraits that bring some of the social and political issues facing Ghana to the fore. Then performance artist Elisabeth Efua Sutherland will show with us following a residency with Ano. We will be exhibiting in early October at 1:54 in London. I am also looking forward to mounting a show of new paintings by Victor Butler. Serge Attukwei Clottey is working on a project and performance to draw attention to the pollution in the Korle Lagoon in Accra; both Clottey and Sutherland will be performing at the Chale Wote festival in late August.
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