In recent years the position of the curator has shifted significantly. In 2017, An Artnet news article read: 

‘Curators are the rock stars of the contemporary art world—or maybe more like the superstar deejays, mixing together every aspect of the art experience into one vision. While many curators today have a status on a par with the artists with whom they work, it was not always thus. The celebrity status of the curator has mushroomed with the professionalization of art, the multiplication of international events, and, not least, with difficult-to-define contemporary art being in desperately in need of able ambassadors to the public.’ - Artnet 2017

Those they deemed  ‘Superstar Curators’ were tastemakers and considered highly influential. If we focus on those of African, Caribbean and Asian descent in particular, we can see a unique trajectory forming, with many building careers around practices that seek to drive forward the moral imperatives of cultural institutions forcing them to reexamine collections, decolonise content, democratise art and increase the representation of previously silenced voices. 

These Superstar curators include the Chair of the Fourth Plinth commissioning group, Ekow Eshun; Design Museum’s Priya Khanchandani; curator of International Art at the Tate,  Osei Bonsu, and  ArtNoir Founder Larry Ossei-Mensah, to name a few. Is it a consequence there appears to be a higher proportion of Superstar curators of Ghanaian descent? I cannot answer yet, but something to probe further as I invite you to begin opening up a more critical discourse around what is happening within Ghana concerning the burgeoning art scene and the positioning of its artists within the global art marking.  

Working in tandem with the institutions these Superstar curators have been able to reclaim, reframe and reimagine narratives aligned with art created by Black and Brown folk. This work in the last four years has coincided with the recent increase in appetite for art produced by African artists living and working on the African continent, namely Ghana, an appetite that I would like to define as insatiable. 

Black figurative paintings and work by African artists have seen a record number of sales, in auctions and generally within the global art market. It has been recorded that:

‘In 2022 works by Contemporary artists born in Africa generated $63 million at auction versus a previous record of around $47 million in 2021. At the end of the first half of 2022, we noted that the auction turnover generated by Contemporary African art was three times higher than during the first half of 2012. By the end of the year, however, its turnover total had risen to five times the decade-earlier annual total!’ - artprice.com

 The rise of  Instagram as a platform to showcase and sell art has also provided more artists living in Africa the opportunity to have their works seen by prospective collectors and galleries outside of the continent. 

In a 2023 article following the openings of three New York solos for three Ghanaian contemporary artists: Adjei Tawiah (Opera Gallery), Amoako Boafo (Gagosian), Cornelious Annor (Venus Over Manhattan), in the same week, it was alluded that: ‘‘This Is a Moment They Have to Grab’: How Ghana’s Art Stars Are Building a Movement to Outlast the Speculators and Market Frenzies”

 The article went on to state that:

‘Notably, all began their careers either on the roster or in the residency of Accra’s Gallery 1957, and most went to Ghanatta College of Art and Design, which closed in 2015. All have incurred a bit of speculation drama in the market. And their distinct aesthetics have enraptured the world—kicking Black figuration into heavy rotation and moving the conversation about African contemporary art beyond geopolitical borders.”  Julie Baumgardner for artnet.com

Before posing the question: “But what happens when two very different art ecosystems collide? “ As the article states:

“Speculation and flipping hit this group of artists hard between 2019 and 2021—and, in truth, it’s probably why you know their names and why they’ve been covered in the media so heavily. As Laurent Mercier of Maurani Mercier, the Belgian outfit that represents Annor, Taku, and Botchway, said: “What was happening was attracting the wrong collectors who are not collectors. They’re asset managers.”Julie Baumgardner for artnet.com

Articles like: “Beyond Amoako Boafo: The Next Emerging Names You Need to Know in Accra, Ghana’s Rapidly Accelerating Art Hub” by Rebecca Anne Proctor for artnet.com, (2021 )helping build the frenzy.

Now, I argue that whilst European and North American institutions have used the detox, decolonise agenda to justify their new desire to include  Black and African artists in exhibitions, commercial galleries may be doing so as a way to drive sales and in some cases revive their galleries, as it is not ‘on trend’. 

Taking the aforementioned statement into consideration and the reality that the urgently necessary anti-racist movement to decolonise the minds of people is still in its infancy, it would be a disservice not to begin to probe and interrogate the interaction between Europe, White America and Africa through the art market. 

If we consider Africa’s geopolitical position in the world, and the reality that it has historically been, and continues to be a site of resource extraction for the West, one naturally asks, how does this affect how galleries and the art world interact with the continent? If we add the commonly accepted and widely internalised racist notions that Africans are inherently in a deficit compared to their Western counterparts, who are often considered to be their educators, fixers, and saviours, again I pose the question, what is the effect on galleries and dealers when interacting with artists? And if we can agree that we are yet to fully address and dismantle the deep-rooted detrimental colonial beliefs which have failed to imagine Africans as worthy, or as artists, I reiterate, what does this do to artists when they are operating in a world which was not imagined for them to exist in, yet alone thrive in?

The examination continues: Can African artists living and working in Africa be considered fully autonomous humans with agency, especially when interest in them comes from the commercial value of the work they produce? Who is the art they create really working for? The galleries or the artists? And what happens when images of African bodies become lucrative commodities? And what of the artist that is flown abroad for ‘residency’ and asked to stray far from home, in a foreign land that did not imagine them co-habiting the space with their white counterparts, alone, in isolation with the sole purpose of producing large amounts of works for the commercial use of a gallery?

Julie Baumgardner also wrote the following,  stating how some perceive what is happening to Ghanaian artists:

“ blue-chip Western galleries are exploiting these artists and funneling them into a factory model, where canvases are churned out for a competitive supply chain and prices are hiked up so that 400 percent returns can be achieved at auction.. “ (2023)

As unsettling as all of this may feel, and somewhat accusatory, I think that we cannot and should not allow ourselves to become blind to the fact that racist ideals are still prevalent, and it will take years to reprogram the thinking of centuries. A failure to do this removes the opportunity to reimagine and create a new world which is not founded on the outdated and pervasive racist ideals of colonialism and White Supremacy. I once read: ‘New forms of power emerge all the time and for a while they escape criticism, but not forever!’ So with that said I invite you to take the time to really reflect on what we have witnessed within the art world in recent years, and start to critically analyse trends, behaviours and the motivations driving these. Challenge yourselves to consider how unconscious biases play out, and ask whether what is happening is equitable, anti-racist and driven by a desire for liberation for all.

Nonetheless, whilst I argue that these lines of enquiries should be burrowed deep, to bring about positive change, not to point fingers, I have chosen to use this space here to look into the solutions initiated by the Superstar artists and celebrate and amplify the ways in which they are creating infrastructure across Africa, in this case, Ghana to create a local and African centred ecosystem.

It is important for me to note that I am not insinuating that the interaction between Europe, America and Africa through the art market should cease, it doesn’t need to, but  I do argue that it does need examining and reconfiguring. I cannot deny that the trade of art on ‘The art market’   has and continues to open up opportunities for artists to create sustainable incomes and livelihoods for their families and communities. However whilst this is the case, it cannot be denied that many artists have been vulnerable and susceptible to exploitation and even worse so deteriorating mental health and financial difficulties as a result of being sought after and groomed by ‘The West’. 

But with Superstar curators doing the work in The West and Superstar Artists doing the work at home, we see the foundations of a more equitable trajectory being paved.

“Ghanaian artists are investing back into their country. Boafo’s dot.ateliers, a three-story, David Adjaye-designed building, includes spaces for exhibitions, a library, and studios for artist residencies. It was ‘born on the back of collaborations and community,’ said Boafo in a 2022 Cultured magazine interview and will welcome its second wave of residents this year.

Similarly, painter Kwesi Botchway parlayed his success into creating opportunities for other young visual artists, officially launching his Worldfaze Studio and Residency in Accra in August 2023. Beyond the capital, collective blaxTARLINES and artist Ibrahim Mahama have garnered attention with their community-based work in Kumasi and Tamale, respectively.” - Art Basel, 2024

The presence of these spaces generates huge amounts of hope and excitement, and are the physical embodiment of a change in direction, a reclamation of resources and the building of a sustainable homegrown ecosystem, supported by Superstar Curators advocating for us, showing up for us, protecting our interests and amplifying our voices.

As stated by Gallery 1957 founder Marwan Zakhem:

“They’ve done so by banding together and creating a movement. “They are very generous, so they want to give back to their community,” said Mercier. “What we’ve had over the last five years is the explosion of talent, the explosion of a community that has arisen from this success, and [are] paying back and paving the way for the other hundreds of artists,” Zakhem added. “  Julie Baumgardner for artnet.com, 2023

Where are we going? I’m not sure yet, but it feels like we are going in the right direction and we are moving together as a unit, Superstar Curators in the diaspora alongside Superstar Artists at home.