Annan Affotey

Atta Kwami was born in Accra, Ghana in 1956, studying painting at the University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and later earning a PhD in art history from the Open University, Milton Keynes, England in 2007. Kwami is best known for his abstract artworks rooted in the vibrant urban landscape of Kumasi, with the patterns in his paintings informed by the creations of local street artists seen on kiosks, storefronts, billboards, and murals, as well as the traditional 'kente' cloth of the Asante people of Ghana.Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/atta-kwami-

Emefa Cole was born to a Ga mother and an Ewe and Ga-Dangbe father in Sunyani, West-Central Ghana in 1979, and immigrated to London with her family aged 12. Having studied jewellery making in London, she has now established a successful and progressive brand in the UK, dedicated to experimental yet wearable art. In 2022 she was appointed the V&A's first curator of diaspora jewellery.Listen to her story here or read the full biography on the BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/emefa-cole

Godfried Donkor was born in Kumasi, Ghana in 1964, moving to London, England in 1973. He completed a a BA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins (1984–89) and subsequently attended postgraduate courses in  Spain, before completing an MA in African Art History at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London (1995). Donkor is best known for his collages exploring the socio-historical relationship between Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean in which a recurring theme is the relationship between boxing and the slave trade.Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/godfried-donkor

James Barnor was born in Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1929. He established Ever Young, his first studio, in 1953, producing iconic portraits that captured a nation striving for modernity and independence. He moved to England in 1959 to study colour photography at the Colour Processing Laboratories (CPL) in Edenbridge in Kent and then enrolled at Medway College of Art in Rochester. Barnor is now recognised as a major figure in contemporary African photography.Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/james-barnor

John Akomfrah OBE, CBE was born in Accra, Ghana in 1957 and immigrated to the UK with his family in 1966, following the Ghanaian coup by the National Liberation Council (NLC). He studied sociology at Portsmouth Polytechnic, graduating in 1982; in the same year he co-founded the Black Audio Film Collective, followed by Smoking Dogs Films in 1998. His work investigates memory, post-colonialism, temporality and the experiences of the global migrant diaspora.Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU:https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/john-akomfrah

Kojo Marfo was born in Kwahu Tafo, Ghana, in 1980. He immigrated to London in the early 2000s to pursue higher education in the arts but did not complete his formal studies. He is a largely self-taught artist who is now established as a painter exploring themes of spirituality, injustice and womanhood, mixing Akan and Western styles.Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/kojo-marfo

Larry Amponsah was born in 1989 in Accra, Ghana, earned his BFA in painting from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 2015, an MFA in Chinese traditional painting and calligraphy from Jiangsu University in 2016, and an MA in painting from the Royal College of Art, London in 2018. Inspired initially by Ghanian calendars, which are usually layered one upon the other, Amponsah works in collage with archival and print materials.Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/larry-amponsah

Oku Ampofo was born in Mampong, Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1908. In 1932 he became the first Ghanaian to win the Gold Coast Government Medical Scholarship. Ampofo subsequently moved to Edinburgh, Scotland in 1933 and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, while taking night classes in sculpture at Edinburgh School of Art. Returning to Ghana in 1940 he founded the Akuapem Six, a group of artists advocating for an appreciation of indigenous and Akuapem art, as well as ‘healthy conditions for free expression of thought through the arts'. Ampofo worked with painted wood as well as with cement and terrazzo.Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/oku-ampofo

Eric Estorick was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City in 1913, studying sociology at New York University. After his marriage to textile designer Salome Dessau, the couple settled in London in 1947, where Estorick built one of the world's greatest collections of early 20th-century Italian art. Shortly before his death, he founded the Eric and Salome Estorick Foundation to house his Italian works, which opened its doors to the public in north London in 1998.Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/eric-estorick