Kwesi Botchway

Kwesi Botchway, born in Nima/Accra, Ghana, is a multidisciplinary artist and, like so many talented creatives of his generation, a product of Ghanatta College of Arts and Design. His creative focus is in depicting compelling figurative portrait paintings from different generations. His point of focus is the eyes, nose and mouth which is where human emotions are best portrayed; he believes that this helps us better visually experience one another's feelings — an exchange of information without using words.

Kwesi's paintings help create an intriguing dialogue between the subject's message and the viewer. His work compels the viewer to become physically and emotionally invested in the subject's story. He aims to capture the spirit, essence and heritage of his subjects and uses this as an opportunity to lend the world a glance into the lives and struggles of people whose stories are yet to be fully told. His paintings are meant to trigger emotions of pride or shame, honour or disgust and sometimes even humour.

As he puts it: 'It's all about the story of his subjects, which words cannot fully explain.'

Botchway has exhibited extensively in Ghana and internationally since 2014, including the Ghana National Museum, the Marina Mall, Chalewote Street Art Festival (Spirit Roboter / Wata Mata / Para Other / Pidginimaginarium across multiple editions), Hos Oona Galleri og Sundhed in Denmark, Africa Contemporary Art Gabah in Hamburg, James Town Café (during Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall's visit to Ghana in 2018), and Sabolai Radio Music Festival. He was named one of the GUBA Awards Top 5 Influential Artists 2019 (USA).