Story: Rahamatu-Lahi Zakaria | Producer, Breakfast Live Show
For every artist, it is always an honour for people to recognize your work and at the same exhibit your works for the community to see and connect with it in different ways that they would see it. It is no different from up-and-coming young artist, Sandra Kyere, who was called up to take part in a group exhibition titled Existing otherwise, the future of coexisting at Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA).
When asked by the team at Sanatu Zambang how she got to be part of this exhibition and her reaction when she got the news, Sandra said it was amazing to be part of it and was surprised that she was even considered to be part of such a huge exhibition. According to her, she was not expecting such a call-up.
‘’I am humbled and grateful to the team at SCCA for recognising my work and giving me this opportunity to work with other great artists from different countries to do this exhibition, Existing otherwise, the future of coexisting’’.
Existing otherwise, the future of coexisting is Sandra first exhibition out of school. This exhibition she says it means a lot to her and she wants ‘’people to engage with it, be consumed by it and make memories out of it and if possible, say this is something that they have never experienced before’’.
She describes this exhibition as an opportunity for her to connect with more people in her field, get people to know about her work and connect with it both physically and visually. This exhibition is also going to afford her the chance to learn from other artists and form new relationships with them.
Sandra form of art was inspired way back in her undergraduate school at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Narrating her journey, she talks of her lecturer encouraging her and her mates to walk around in their communities because it is their environment that is going to inspire them to do art. In doing this, Sandra came across a mud house in the middle of block and modern forms of buildings that we have become used to. This scene inspired her to start experimenting with soil to see what she can make out of it.
As a lover of flowers, Sandra added that to the soil to create images that people can interact in the way that they want to. As she progressed, dyes and wood were also added to her materials. With these materials, she sees a link between them and humanity, something that lives and something that decays.
Other artists called up for this exhibition included Ana Alenso (VZ), Ato Jackson, (GH), Bernard Akoi-Jackson (GH), Cecilia Vicuna (CL), Eli Cortinas (ES), Emily Hunt, (AU), Ernest Sackitey (GH), Hannah Torticki (DK), Jem Bendeli (GB), Rosemary Esinam Damalie (GH), Ruzgar Buski (TR), Sarah Ama Duah (GH), Sandra Kyere (GH), Selom Kudjie (GH), Sikarnt Skoolisariyaporn (TH) and Tracy Naa Koshie Thompson (GH).
Existing Otherwise, the future of coexisting is open to the public from the 14th of January and will end on the 20th of April, 2022 in all three spaces, Nkrumah Volni, Redclay Studio and Savannah Centre for Contemporary.
