Àsìkó Art School, and Nordic Baltic Studios as part of the Finland-Africa Partnership for Innovation (FAPI),collaborated with four residencies- LAPA (South Africa),Ard Art Residency (Egypt), G.A.S Foundation (Nigeria), and ExitFrame Residency (Ghana) for a two-week workshop series titled ‘On Shyness’.
Based on the collaboration, six alumni residents from these residencies were selected based on recommendations, to participate in the workshop between August 12-24, 2024 at Helsinki, Finland. The participants were Nourhan Maayouf(Ard Art Residency), Ofem Ubi(GAS Foundation),Mina Nasr(LAPA), Duduetsang Lamola(LAPA), Akosua Odeibea Amoah-Yeboah(ExitFrame Residency), and Isaac Gyamfi(ExitFrame Residency).
The workshop consisted of a series of facilitated artist/curator-initiated exercises that opened and explored varied dimensions of the concept of shyness. Participants reflected on their personal and cultural perceptions of shyness, developing new works in collaborative groups that explored these emerging understandings. The workshop embraced a wide range of material practices and modes of working.
The workshop which had grown out of an ongoing, multi-year collaboration around experimental artist pedagogies between Uniarts Helsinki and the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos, is part of the project Finland-Africa Platform for Innovation (FAPI) financed by the Finnish Ministry of Education.
Read their short profile.
Isaac Gyamfi A. – Ghana
Isaac Gyamfi A., an artist from Ghana, he has always been fascinated by the impact of visual imagery and capturing unique representations of everyday life. His focus lies in creating portraits that reflect the essence of the people and the world around him. With a keen eye for detail, he aims to not only document individuals’ lives but also to celebrate their stories. Isaac brings their stories to life through his unique perspective, drawing from his background in painting and sculpture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
As a freelance photographer, he has the freedom to explore his artistic vision and share his talent with the world. Through his work, Isaac hopes to inspire others and create lasting memories.
Nourhan Maayouf. – Egypt
Nourhan Maayouf is an Egyptian artist. In 2022, She obtained her MA in Arts in Public Spheres, from the Valais school of art (EDHEA), in Switzerland. She participated in many group exhibitions such as 13th Bamako Biennale in (2022), Cairo Video Festival in (2019) and Addis Foto Festival in (2018).
As well as winning local and regional awards, most prominently Absa bank l’Atelier grand award in South Africa in (2016). She took part in art residency programs such as Cite internationale des Arts in Paris, France in (2017) as well as Prohelvetia supported art residency in Zurich, Switzerland in (2019).
Ofem Ubi – Nigeria
A poet & artist from Nigeria, Ofem Ubi (b.1996) is exploring the poetic through visual forms. Drawing prompts from experience, his work upholds a constant query on memory; documenting the outcomes beyond the page.
Ofem Ubi is a G.A.S. Foundation Alumni who has shown work at the G.A.S. Space; RELE Gallery; Alte Tankstelle Deutz, Cologne; INKWELL by Writerz&Scribez; National Arts in Health, Nigeria; other reputable spaces and publications.
Akosua Odeibea Amoah-Yeboah – Ghana
AKOSUA ODEIBEA AMOAH-YEBOAH (b. 1998) is a multidisciplinary artist who explores transformation, through digital mediums. She is interested in systems of signs, language, appropriation, memes, politics of the body and technology. She transforms these ideas from one form to the other as she sees the ideas as materials that can be expanded beyond their bare forms (materials of elasticity/ malleability). Her works span from photomontages, video installations, musical scripts and sounds.
She graduated Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Painting and Sculpture, 2021. She has participated in Silent Invasions: The Art of Material Hacking, Amasaka Gallery, 2023, Abrɔfo Nkatiɛ (The Nut of the White Man), Goethe Institut, Accra 2024 and Constellations II: Figures in Webs & Ripples of Space, Gallery 1957, Accra 2024.
Duduetsang Lamola – South Africa
Duduetsang Lamola (b. 1991) is a South African self-taught interdisciplinary artist and creative freelancer working primarily in collage, creative design, video art/moving image, workshop facilitation, cultural production and experimental research. Her practice is centered on visualising imaginative modes of survival for the future through speculative reconstruction. She was the recipient of the LAPA Pan African Artist Residency Johannesburg in 2021 and has participated in group exhibitions including A SACRED STORY AT THE TREE OF LIFE at ifa Gallery, Berlin (2023) and AI: Ancestral Immediacies at HKW, Berlin (2023).
Mina Nasr – Egypt
Mina Nasr is an interdisciplinary Egyptian artist and researcher based in Cairo. He completed his Bachelor of Applied Arts at Helwan University, Egypt, and is currently focusing on art and social justice after completing his Fulbright research program at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C., USA. His work has been exhibited at the Goethe Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa; MeetFactory in Prague, Czech Republic; Kunstverein Leipzig in Germany; The Luther W. Brady Art Gallery in the USA; and Centre Cívic Ateneu Fort Pienc in Barcelona, Spain. Nasr has participated in numerous art residency programs, including Lapa in South Africa; Art OMI in the USA; Pier-2 Art Center in Taiwan; Jiwar Creation & Society in Spain; Mosan Art Museum in South Korea; AIAV in Japan; and Rotefabrik in Switzerland.
