/ GROUP SHOWS /
- Woori Festival; Nubuke Foundation Centre For Textiles and Clay, Loho, Wa (March 2024)- The Sound of Our Souls; UTA Artists Space, Los Angeles (Nov. 2023)
- Black Gaze, Black Bodies: Black Masculinities and Hip Hop; Pittsburgh Yards, Atlanta (Oct. 2023)
- DXP (Digital Transformation Planet): Towards the Next Interface; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Oct. 2023)
- 1-54 Art Fair; Somerset House, London (Oct. 2023)
- AfricaNFT; Something Art Space, Abidjan (Oct. 2023)
- How High The Moon; Elsewhere, New York (Sept. 2023)
- We Are Still Here; Heritage Concept, Basel (June 2023)
- Afrofutourism: Falomo Immersive Digital Art Experience; Falomo Bridge, Lagos (Nov. 2022)
- ART X Lagos; The Federal Palace, Victoria Island, Lagos (Nov. 2022)
- Affordable Art Fair; Battersea Park, London (Oct. 2022)
- Holla Back To The Future; Museum of Museums, Seattle (May 2022)
- Venice Biennale; Venice, Veneto (April 2022)
- Art Dubai; Dubai, United Arab Emirates (March 2022)
- Refraction Festival; New York Public Records, Brooklyn, New York (March 2022)
- Blackout Denver; The Culture Museum, Denver, Colorado (Feb. 2022)
- BLACK*RARE; SuperRare (Feb. 2022)
- Afrofuturism—The Next Generation; Portion (Feb. 2022)
- Efie: Museum As Home; Museum Ostwall, Dortmund (Dec. 2021)
- Digital Art Fair Asia; Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong (Oct. 2021)
- Cyberbaat; Dakar + Metaverse (Sept. 2021)
- Physical Chaos, Digital Calm; Accra + Virtual Exhibition (Dec. 2020)
- BeyondCovid, Open House Studio; Dzorwulu (Nov. 2020)
- Accra Art Fair; Untamed Empire; Spintex Road, Accra (March 2020)
- Black Gala, The Museum of Science And Technology; Adabraka (Dec. 2019)
- Diaspora: From Local To Foreign; Airport Residential Area; Accra (Dec. 2019)
- FNB JoburgArtFair, Sandton Convention Centre; Johannesburg (Sept. 2017)
- Africa By Design, Nubuke Foundation; East Legon, Accra (March 2017)
- Yiwarra Kuju, Nubuke Foundation; East Legon, Accra (Jan. 2016)
- Korea, Our Stories, Nation brand and identity, The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History; Jongno-gu, Seoul (Aug. 2015)
- RAW Artists Revolution, Theatre of Living Arts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 2014)
- Inaugural Kitao Gallery Juried Contest, Kitao Gallery; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (April 2014)
- Black & White Photography Exhibition, Kitao Gallery; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (Nov. 2013)
/ SOLO SHOWS /
- Afronuvo, Nubuke Foundation; East Legon, Accra (Nov. 2015)- Untitled, A&C Mall; East Legon, Accra (Oct. 2016)
/ RESIDENCIES & GRANTS /
- VerticalCrypto Art Residency; 2023- Electric South New Dimensions Lab; 2023
- Prince Claus Mentorship Awards for Cultural & Artistic Responses to the Environmental Crisis; 2023
/ HONORS & AWARDS /
- LiveArtX Global 100 Winner (2022)- Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Art Winner; Accra, Ghana (2017)
- Thomas B. McCabe Scholar; Swarthmore, PA, USA (2010 - 2014)
- Inaugural Kitao Gallery Juried Contest Winner; Swarthmore, PA, USA (2014)
/ NEWS, PRESS & NOTABLE MENTIONS/
- Right Click Save- The Sole Adventurer
- DW
- Wallpaper*
- The Art Newspaper
- ArtReview
- Alt-Africa
- Portion
- African Digital Art
- e-flux
- ArtReview
- NFT Plazas
- Nordstadt Blogger
- Muse Origins
- Alternatives Watch
- My Joy Online
- Swarthmore College
- Nubuke Foundation
- Chinese Global Television Network
- Business Ghana
- Sugarcane Magazine
- Something We Africans Got
- Penn Today
- Elle Decor
/ SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS /
- Northeastern University Global Leadership Summit; Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra (March 2023)- ACP-EU Culture Programme; Alliance Française, Accra (August 2022)
- Kobalt Music All Hands Event; Zoom (March 2022)
- Capital 2121: Reimagining the Future of Capital; AI 4 Afrika Podcast (Sept. 2021)
- Crypto Art Revolution - The NFT Documentary; Adorama (Sept. 2021)
- YGA Conversations; Nubuke Foundation, East Legon, Accra (July 2021)
- Decolonising Imagination; Palaver Podcast (July 2021)
- How Can NFTs Change The Face of West African Art?; Clubhouse (March 2021)
- Afrochella Talks; The Shop Accra, Osu, Accra (August 2019)
- Jamestown To Jamestown Business, Development and Investment Summit; GEPA, Accra (August 2019)
- Young Collectors Lounge Art Talk; Apartmento Hotel, Accra (Dec. 2018)
- PICHA Stock Future Focus Art Talk on Afrofuturism; Aviation Social Center, Accra (Dec. 2018)
- Telling Tall Stories; British Council, Accra (July 2017)
- The Beyond Collective Art Talk; The Studio Accra, Osu, Accra (May 2017)
- Radio Interview; Y 107.9 FM, Accra (April 2017)
/ ART & DESIGN AFFILIATIONS /
- Nubuke Foundation- Harvard Africa Policy Journal
- Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art
- AI 4 Afrika
- The Beyond Collective
- House of Stole
- Small Hype
- Cyberbaat
- Artano
/ NOTABLE COLLABORATIONS /
- Apple (2022)- Kobalt Music (2022)
- Dawn Richard (2022)
- MTV Base (2022)
- Chance the Rapper x Joey Bada$$ (2022)
- Foreign Policy (2022)
- Chris Lyons (2022, 2021)
- NBC Universal (2021)
- Instagram (2021)
- Adobe Inc. (2020)
- Public Enemy’s MC Jahi (2020)
- M3NSA (2020, 2021)
- E.L. (2020)
- Y’akoto (2019)
- Free The Youth x Trippin x Footlocker x Nike (2019)
- Zolani Mahola (2019)
- Efya (2019)
- Amaarae (2017)
- Jam Jar (2016, 2021)
- R2Bees’ Mugeez (2015, 2020)
WHO/WHAT IS AFROSCOPE?
NEVER STATIC ALWAYS EVOLVING
NEVER STATIC ALWAYS EVOLVING
1991—
/ STATEMENT /
Afroscope [Nana Isaac Akwasi Opoku] is an artist and designer from Tema, Ghana who makes art that is often rooted in a diversity of Afrikan world views and cosmogonies.
The Yoruba concept of Ashè, the Nguni Bantu philosophy of Ubuntu and the Akan Adinkra symbology are some examples of his early, enduring influences.
His work typically exudes strong surrealist leanings with afrofuturist undertones, as it asks and responds to questions such as:
Who could we become if we remembered who we were?
Where could we go if we remembered where we came from?
What alternate realities and futures could we create if we knew our various pasts?
The genesis of his formal art practice largely coincides with the peak of his disillusionment with colonially programmed norms, particularly within the spheres of education, religion, nutrition society and selfhood.
Thus, art-making has become a way for Nana to investigate and synthesize the alternative modes of being he continues to encounter on his ongoing journey to ‘decolonize imagination’.
In essence, his work currently attempts to deconstruct normative reality and challenge popular tropes about Afrika(ns) by imagining transcendental visual narratives that usually comprise otherworldly beings, speculative dreamscapes and peculiar forms.
Nana straddles the worlds of myth, mystery and automatism in his work. Ultimately he sees his art as portals into a multiverse of realities and also as a form of cosmic play.
The Yoruba concept of Ashè, the Nguni Bantu philosophy of Ubuntu and the Akan Adinkra symbology are some examples of his early, enduring influences.
His work typically exudes strong surrealist leanings with afrofuturist undertones, as it asks and responds to questions such as:
Who could we become if we remembered who we were?
Where could we go if we remembered where we came from?
What alternate realities and futures could we create if we knew our various pasts?
The genesis of his formal art practice largely coincides with the peak of his disillusionment with colonially programmed norms, particularly within the spheres of education, religion, nutrition society and selfhood.
Thus, art-making has become a way for Nana to investigate and synthesize the alternative modes of being he continues to encounter on his ongoing journey to ‘decolonize imagination’.
In essence, his work currently attempts to deconstruct normative reality and challenge popular tropes about Afrika(ns) by imagining transcendental visual narratives that usually comprise otherworldly beings, speculative dreamscapes and peculiar forms.
Nana straddles the worlds of myth, mystery and automatism in his work. Ultimately he sees his art as portals into a multiverse of realities and also as a form of cosmic play.