Story: Rahamatu-Lahi Zakaria || Sanatu Zambang
Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art Tamale (SCCA) and Red Clay Studios has opened an exhibition in celebration of Agyeman Osei with a retrospective of his works dating back from when he started doing art.
The exhibition, Akutia: Blindfolding the Sun and the Poetics of Peace (A Retrospective of Agyeman Ossei ‘Dota’), co-curated by Adwoa Amoah, Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh, and Tracy Naa Koshie Thompson was opened in two folds at SCCA Tamale on 4th September and Red Clay Studios on 5th September 2020.
The work that was exhibited included paintings, sculptures, and animations. Akutia translates literally as sarcasm. In the concept of the art, Akutia is coined to use art to draw humor through poetic and proverbial expressions. The Akutia art exhibition is a retrospective of the life’s work of Agyeman Osei (Dota).
Engrossed in arts, the artist’s style of work includes translating Akan proverbs, idioms, legends, myths, etc. into paintings, theatre plays, animations, and sculptures. Agyemang Osei tries to explain everyday expressions into comprehensible forms through his paintings and other arts. He tells his own life story and experience through art.
The exhibition which is set to be running until March 2021, will see people troop in from all parts of the country and beyond. Speaking to the audience at the opening of the exhibition, Dr. Agyeman revealed that, his mum conceived him in Tamale and coming back to Tamale after several years to do an art exhibition especially a retrospective of his works is a humble feeling and he is grateful for such opportunity.
The artist has been working as an educationist for most of his life and has taught at both the senior high school level to the tertiary. Until his retirement in 2017, he held the position of Head of the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Ghana.