The Ellipse Prize 2025 has announced its five finalists, each representing Ghana's vibrant and burgeoning art scene. This fifth edition, themed "Butterfly Effect," celebrates artists who are making significant ripples in the art world. The selected finalists—Sena Burgundy, Reginald Boateng, Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku, Nana Frimpong Oduro, and Dela Anyah—will showcase their diverse talents in a group exhibition at the Mix Design Hub in Accra from April 11 to 27, 2025.
The selection committee, comprised of contemporary art professionals with expertise in the Ghanaian art scene, meticulously reviewed 82 applications to arrive at these five finalists. The jury included Victoria Mann, Founder and Director of the AKAA fair (Paris); Barbara Kokpavo Janvier, Founder and Director of Gallery Soview (Accra); and Binta Ata, Founder and Director of the Mix Design Hub (Accra).
Each artist brings a unique perspective and medium to their work:
Sena Burgundy, Final Ascent, 2024, 95 x 110 cm. Courtesy of the artist and ellipse art prize.
Sena Burgundy (Sena Kofi Appau), a painter born in 1997, delves into self-awareness using blue figures as symbols of universal introspection. Influenced by cinema and music, his dreamlike landscapes reflect a quest for identity and understanding, inspired by the philosophy "nosce te" (know thyself).
Reginald Boateng, a visual artist and photographer born in 1999, explores identity and culture by blending tradition and modernity. His work, capturing everyday scenes with a distinctive style rooted in Ghanaian heritage, reveals rich textures and colors inspired by Kente fabric.
Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku, born in 1994, is a multidisciplinary artist who transforms discarded textiles into original sculptures and canvases. Through dyeing and assemblage, he repurposes used garments—silent witnesses of past lives—to question identity, overconsumption, and colonial heritage, sparking reflection on industrialization and climate change.
Nana Frimpong Oduro, a photographer and art director born in 1996, draws inspiration from surrealism to create dark-toned compositions where the human figure emerges from water. Like visual poems, his works embody fluidity, emotion, and depth, exploring themes of interdependence, solidarity, and hope.
Dela Anyah, born in 1986, is a multidisciplinary artist who crafts works from worn-out tires, inner tubes, and license plates. Reinterpreting traditional African weaving techniques, he creates abstract compositions where each material's deterioration tells a story, inviting viewers to reconsider the value and beauty of forgotten materials while highlighting humanity's dependence on machines.
The winner of the 2025 Ellipse Prize, to be announced on Wednesday, June 4, will receive a production grant and an exhibition at the AKAA – ALSO KNOWN AS AFRICA fair from October 24 to 26, 2025.
The Ellipse Prize, with its focus on a different country each year, aims to foster intercultural exchange by showcasing artists from diverse backgrounds. The prize encourages emerging artists' mobility and professional opportunities beyond borders.
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