Kofi Setordji (born 1957) is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Ghana. His works range from graphic design, textile designing, sculpture and painting.[1][2][3]
Education and career
Setordji was born in 1957 in Accra.[4][5] He attended Methodist Secondary School in Accra after which he trained as a commercial artist. He was an apprentice of Ghanaian cartoonist Ghanatta Yaw Boakye.[6] From 1984 to 1987, Setordji apprenticed with Ghanaian artist and dramatist Saka Acquaye.[3][5] He started working in sandstone in 1985 and started showing his works in Accra. He has since shown in France, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Austria, South Africa and the United States.[3][6]
Apart from his artistic practice, Setordji is a mentor to many young contemporary artists practicing in Accra. He founded Arthaus, a residency program for artists.[7] In addition, he is a co-founder and former creative director of Nubuke Foundation, a contemporary art space in Accra.[8][9][10]
Notable works
Setordji's most famous art is the Genocide, a multidimensional installation (wood, metal, recycled objects and paint) that he created as a response to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.[11][12][13][14][15] The work was made between 1998 and 2000 and comprised about 300 pieces which included a scene of a war tribunal. In the middle sat a judge. On the side were defence and prosecuting lawyers.[16] The work was shown at the 2000 edition of Dakar Biennale.[17]
Setordji's 5-meter high sculpture commissioned by the city of Accra stands in front of the National Theatre of Ghana. The work is titled Entre Amies.[18]
Awards and honours
Setordji won the Leisure Award Sculptor of the Year prize in 1990.[3] In 2018, he received The Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Creative Arts Fellowship.[19][20] Setordji was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at Nubuke Foundation in 2012.[6]
Exhibitions
Prête-moi ton Rêve (Lend me your dream) 2019-2020[21][22]
