About
Ghanaian photographer Gerald Annan-Forson portrays both political transformation and daily life in the African city during the last decades of the 20th century. This exhibition is only the second time his work has been shown in North America. His photographs tell the visual story of Ghana after it won independence from British imperial rule on March 6, 1957. Annan-Forson documents the changing landscape of Accra, the nation’s capital, with its subtle moods and evolving cosmopolitanisms. His compositional style, playful focus, and formal repetitions challenge photographic conventions and disrupt viewer expectations by centering quirky figures and offbeat moments. His commitment to both spectacular occasions and the quiet intimacies of Ghanaian life places his images in dialogue with the previous generation of independence-era African photographers such as Felicia Abban, James Barnor, and Malick Sidibé and anticipates the recent explosion of photographers across the continent who are experimenting with documentary storytelling.
This exhibition is organized by the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, and generously supported by the Harrington Gallery Fund.
This exhibition has been built upon numerous intellectual contributions and collaborations. Special thanks to J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon; Sharjah Art Foundation; Africa Institute, Sharjah; Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University; Duggal Visual Solutions; Hoor Al Qasimi; Salah Hassan; Judith Opoku-Boateng; Bright Gyamfi; Benjamin Talton; Zulema Morin; Selina Emma-Okle; Fatima Yakubu; David Kofi Tawiah Ghansah; Paa. Kwesi Holdbrook-Smith.
Exhibition Curator
Jesse Weaver Shipley