Search the Collection

One-word searches work best.
Use AND to require multiple terms:

  • ceramics AND vase
 More
Close Overlay

Keyword Search Information

For best results, use one word:

  • Yoruba
  • Baroque
  • Rembrandt

Use AND for combinations:

  • American AND ceramics AND vase
  • Birch AND bark AND container
  • Picasso AND photograph

Use quotes for phrases and full names:

  • "Bark Painting"
  • "English Sheraton Barometer"
  • "Tuning Fork Mallet"

If your search includes 3 or more words, you may use a mix of quotes and AND:

  • "birch bark" AND container

Off-Beat

August 17, 2024 – Winter 2025
Portraiture and Politics in the Photography of Gerald Annan-Forson

Share

  • Gerald Annan-Forson, Celebrations after the last prayers of Ramadan in central Accra, 1980, 1980. Courtesy of the artist.

    Gerald Annan-Forson, Celebrations after the last prayers of Ramadan in central Accra, 1980, 1980. Courtesy of the artist.   

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

Exhibition subject: Modern & Contemporary Art