10 distinguished Artists receive Inaugural Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Art Awards
The Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, Ghana, in collaboration with the UNESCO Representative in Ghana, has honored ten renowned artists with the inaugural Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Art Awards.
The inaugural award, according to the organizer, was the beginning of a ten-year project to recognize the artists’ lifetime influence on African art practice and history.
The 2025 Inaugural Artist Laureates, dubbed “Our Old Masters”, held on Friday, May 23, 2025, at the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Jubilee Hall at the Manhyia Palace, were honoured for their lifetime influence on African art practice and history.
The Awardees
Recognized internationally, they are Professor Ablade Glover, founder of the Artists Alliance Gallery in Accra, Professor Ato Delaquis, the last Dean of the College before it was re-named College of Art and Built Environment, and Francis Kwatei Nee-Owoo of Touch of Bronze, the gallerist.
Others are Frances Ademola of The Loom, the folklore princess, painter, collector, and author, Peggy Appiah; the public artist, Kwame Akoto in Kumasi, and Melanie Kasise, founder of the Sirigu Women Organization for Pottery and Art in the Upper East.
Others include the Manhyia Palace royal artist, Nana Amponsah Dwumfuor of Nsoase, and the Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Accra.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, UNESCO, and the European Union Ambassador to Ghana, HE Irchad Razaaly, addressed the event, which attracted policymakers and art patrons from the Republic of Benin, Nigeria, and an official delegation from the Republic of Seychelles.
Motivation for the awards
The Director of the Manhyia Palace Museum, Mr. Ivor Agyeman-Duah, explained that some huge investments have been made in the acquisitions of works of the recipients.
“The Manhyia Palace Museum will therefore be the first to have its collectibles at its new Contemporary Art Gallery,” he said.
He added that “This will constitute part of a larger collection including the recently acquired gold regalia and ornaments from South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti.”
Mr. Ivor Agyeman-Duah explained that the motivation for the awards followed the return last year to Kumasi of looted objects after the 1874 and 1897 Anglo-Ashanti wars.
“Whilst that was in the past and forcibly taken, contemporary works of Ghanaian artists are at the mercy of international art houses and markets. Non-governmental institutions should therefore be encouraged to preserve some,” he posited.
Sustainability and Endowment Fund
The UNESCO Representative in Ghana and one of the speakers at the event, Mr. Edmond Moukala, hinted at mobilization locally and externally of an endowment fund with a consultant put in place to ensure the sustainability of the Award for Ghanaians and other Africans.
“Art speaks for itself”: Asantehene congratulates Inaugural Art Award Winners
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, congratulated the winners of the inaugural Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Art Awards, praising their exceptional works that have inspired people globally.
Asantehene stated that all those chosen for the maiden awards are people who he thought were worthy of the award.
The King of Ashanti emphasized the critical role of art in shaping societies, noting that “it has been a vital part of Ghana’s cultural heritage from pre-colonial times to the present”.
He emphasized that recognition of a person’s achievement for an award should be based on merit, regardless of ethnic background or geographic location.
“Long before I gained my current status (King of Ashanti), I knew the awardees not because they were coming to the Manhyia Palace during the reigns of Otumfuo Sir Agyemang Prempeh and Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, but their works spoke for them,” he added.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Francis Appiah
