Paper short abstract:

Kofi Antubam (1922-1964) and Georges Niangoran-Bouah (1935-2002), both from Akan regions, studied with British and French patrons. As educators, they then patronized the cultural development of Ghana and Ivory Coast. This comparison examines how colonial policies shaped both forms of patronage.

Paper long abstract:

Recent publications have shed light on numerous expatriates who actively trained, sponsored and promoted African artists during the colonial and early post-colonial period. Such research provides nuanced views of the interactions between these foreign residents and the African intellectuals who were forming new cultural institutions for their nations after independence. Nigerian scholars, in particular, have interviewed artists, art historians, gallery owners and critics who, at some point in their careers, received some type of patronage by expatriates. A new research project compares the role of European patronage in the lives of two intellectuals rooted in Akan cultures split by the colonial border. One of these, Kofi Antubam (1922-1964) was a leading artist and educator in the Gold Coast/Ghana. The somewhat younger Georges Niangoran-Bouah (1935-2002), was a collector and notable scholar of the arts in Ivory Coast/Côte d'Ivoire. This comparative analysis of their contributions is part of a larger investigation of the lasting impact of British and French colonial policies on artists of Akan heritage, and the modern and contemporary art worlds in which they have worked. However, it also addresses a relatively unexplored facet of the colonial patronage of scholars in 20th century Africa, as well as considering the important contributions of African patrons in the rapidly changing cultural landscape of the 20th century.