Nana Kofi Acquah
Nana Kofi Acquah | |
|---|---|
| Add a Photo | |
| Born | April 23, 1976 Elmina |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Citizenship | Ghana |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts degree in English |
| Alma mater | University of Cape Coast |
| Occupation |
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Nana Kofi Acquah (/ˈkoʊfiˌækwə/) (born 23 April 1976) is a Ghanaian documentary photographer, journalist, poet, painter, pastor and activist, particularly for championing women’s rights, climate change, environmental protection, healthcare and challenging perceptions on Africa through photography.[1] [2] [3]
Early Life
Nana Kofi Acquah was born in the city of Elmina, 200 meters from the Elmina Castle built in sub-Saharan Africa,[4] on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region.
Education
Nana Kofi attended Tema Methodist Day Secondary School and Nsaba Secondary School in the Central Region (Ghana), where he studied painting, English literature, Bible knowledge (or religion), economics and French.
He graduated from the University of Cape Coast in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
Career
Radio and Journalism
Nana Kofi’s experience as a journalist is said to have begun as a radio broadcaster at Atlantic FM (Ghana), Cape Coast (also known as ATL FM) during his first year as an undergraduate student. He hosted shows and reported stories for the station until his graduation from the University of Cape Coast. Then, he worked at Skyy Power FM, Takoradi where he hosted Christian radio shows.[5]
Advertising
In 2002, Nana Kofi returned to Accra and transitioned to a career in advertising. He began as a Copywriting trainee at Lintas Ghana Limited (now known as MullenLowe Accra), where he rose to the role of Senior Copywriter. He was also introduced to photography at Lintas and became active on Flickr, a photo hosting service and online community.
In 2006, Nana Kofi left Lintas for the role of Creative Director at TBWA\Ghana. The following year, he became a full-time photographer.[1] [2]
Photography
Due to his years in advertising, commercial photography came naturally to Nana Kofi but he felt documentary photography will give him the opportunity to combine his skills in journalism, advertising and writing to impact the world positively.[2] [1]
In 2007, he fully embraced documentary photography after joining a masterclass led by Algerian-French photographer Bruno Boudjelal at Alliance Française in Accra.
In 2008, Nana Kofi participated in a photography masterclass by NOOR photo agency and sponsored by Nikon in Lagos, Nigeria. There, he learned from international photographers including Kadir van Lohuizen, Pep Bonet and Jon Lowenstein. His first World Press Photo masterclass was in Angola and taught by the late Danish photo editor, Per Folkver. This led to a publication featuring his work and that of other photographers on that assignment. He also participated in the long-term Northern Lights Masterclass (or Noorderlicht) in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Nana is a consultant photographer for UNICEF Ghana and an assignment photographer for Getty Images. He has worked extensively across Africa for organisations such as World Health Organisation (WHO), Barry Callebaut, The New York Times, The Guardian, Oxfam, Nestlé, UNESCO, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria|The Global Fund, AmeriCares|Americares, Nike, Inc.|Nike, BBC, Financial Times|The Financial Times, BASF, Novartis Foundation, ActionAid, WaterAid, Facebook, Hershey’s, African Development Bank|AfDB and Standard Bank.[6] [7]
The documentary photographer says he loves people’s stories and enjoys “documenting everyday experiences” in Africa, most especially for their potential nostalgic value.[1] His Ghanaian-ness has not been a barrier to his work across Africa as he notes that he has always been mistaken as a local in almost every African country where he has worked.[8] His photography is said to make an intersection with deep-rooted activism - specifically re-narrativising his continent by offering a more nuanced picture of the African experience and championing women’s rights as he “shows a profound sensibility for the portrayal of women, their struggles, and fights against gender violence."[9] [10] [1] [2] [11] The contributor to the Everyday Africa Instagram account also cares deeply about healthcare and has covered projects on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hypertension, sickle cell, Ebola, and Covid-19.
Exhibitions and Portfolio
Exhibitions
Nana Kofi’s photographs have been exhibited in many countries, including Wales, London, Lisbon, Luanda, and Lagos.[12] [13] [14]
More Than a Number, Wales (2021)
Festival Taralgatte, Morocco (2015)
Photoville, New York (2014)
Daily Graphic (2018)
“Don’t Call Me Beautiful” Ghana (2016)
Published Work
Everyday Africa: 30 Photographers Re-Picturing a Continent (2017)[15] - Co-author and editor (Published by Kehrer Verlag)
Other Creative Work
Nana Kofi enjoys painting with Poly(methyl methacrylate) and writing, especially poetry. He also maintains a blog called “A Window to Ghana and Africa”, where he shares his thoughts and observations on life in his homeland and the wider continent.[7]
Honours and Recognition
Nana was the recipient of the inaugural 2016 Tim Hetherington Trust/World Press Photo Foundation Fellowship in 2016.[5] That same year, his photo was one of ten images presented in a book gifted to Pope Francis by Instagram at the Vatican City,[5] and he was listed by Shutterstock as one of the 100 photographers to follow on Instagram.[3]
In 2008, Nana became the West African Regional Coordinator for the African Voices Project; a Dutch-funded project that recruited and trained citizen journalists on how to report using a Nokia N73.6 He has also served on the juries of the World Press Photo Competition, BarTur Photo Award and the Uganda Press Photo Award.[3]
Family
Nana Kofi is married to Gloria Acquah (nee Agbenohevi), who he met at the university. They have two sons and a daughter; Papa Ekow, Aba, and Ato.[2] Since 2019, they have served as lead pastors of Accra Community Church, a non-denominational, multicultural, egalitarian community of believers in Jesus Christ in Accra, Ghana.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 UP Photographers. "Interview with Nana Kofi Acquah". UP Photographers. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 World Press Photo. "About – Nana Kofi Acquah". worldpressphoto.org. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bartur Photo Award. "Nana Kofi Acquah". barturphotoaward.org. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ↑ White, Jamila. "The Slave Kingdoms". pbs.org. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 UNESCO. "World Press Freedom Day 2017". unesco.org. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Kucma, Anna. "COVID-19 and African Photographers: "We must own our stories."". fes.de. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Acquah, Nana Kofi. "A Window to Ghana and Africa". africaphotographer.blogspot.com. African Photographer Blog. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Tamerra Griffin, Roxsanne Dyssell. "There is More to My Life Than Making Photographs". africasacountry.com. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Uganda Press Photo Award. "We Must Own our Stories: An Interview with Nana Kofi Acquah". visura.co. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Manifesto by Artgence. "Nana Kofi Acquah: Between Photography and Activism". blog.artgence.co. Artgence. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Kwafofi, Vera. "In Pictures: A Male Feminist's View on African Women". bbc.com. BBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Smyth, Diane. "Ghana's First Photo Festival Opens 12-21 September". 1854.photography. British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Photography Now. "More Than A Number Exhibition". photography-now.com. Photography Now. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Owoo, John. "'Don't Call Me Beautiful' Goes on Show". graphic.com. Graphic Showbiz. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ↑ Nana Kofi Acquah, Peter DiCampo, Austin Merrill, Teun van der Heijden. "Everyday Africa 30 Photographers Re-Picturing a Continent". www.kehrerverlag.com. Kehrer. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
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