Kofi Setordji

Setordji was born in 1957 in Accra.{{Cite book |last1=Fall |first1=N'Goné |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqZQAAAAMAAJ&q=kofi+setordji |title=An Anthology of African Art: The Twentieth Century |last2=Pivin |first2=Jean Loup |date=2002 |publisher=D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers |isbn=978-1-891024-38-2 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n3TrAAAAMAAJ&q=kofi+setordji |title=Revue noire |date=1999 |publisher=Publications Editions Bleu Outremer |language=fr}} He attended Methodist Secondary School in Accra after which he trained as a commercial artist. He was an apprentice of Ghanaian cartoonist Ghanatta Yaw Boakye.{{Cite journal |date=2014-03-01 |title=Kofi Setordji: Retrospective, 1997–2012 |url=https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_r_00125 |journal=African Arts |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=85–87 |doi=10.1162/AFAR_r_00125 |s2cid=192974398 |issn=0001-9933|url-access=subscription }} From 1984 to 1987, Setordji apprenticed with Ghanaian artist and dramatist Saka Acquaye. He started working in sandstone in 1985 and started showing his works in Accra. He has since shown in France, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Austria, South Africa and the United States.

Apart from his artistic practice, Setordji is a mentor to many young contemporary artists practicing in Accra. He founded Arthaus, a residency program for artists.{{Cite book |last=Council |first=Ghana Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WQMOAQAAMAAJ&q=kofi+setordji |title=Newsletter |date=2008 |publisher=Ghana Studies Council |language=en}} In addition, he is a co-founder and former creative director of Nubuke Foundation, a contemporary art space in Accra.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gJYnAQAAIAAJ&q=kofi+setordji |title=African Business |date=2007 |publisher=IC Magazines |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Kofi Setordji - Biography |url=https://smocontemporaryart.com/artists/285-kofi-setordji/biography/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=SMO Contemporary Art |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Lauer |first1=Helen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uTUZ1y4HWocC&dq=kofi+setordji&pg=PA243 |title=Identity Meets Nationality: Voices from the Humanities |last2=Amfo |first2=Nana Aba Appiah |last3=Anderson |first3=Jemima Asabea |date=2011 |publisher=African Books Collective |isbn=978-9988-647-96-4 |language=en}}

Setordji's most famous art is the Genocide, a multidimensional installation (wood, metal, recycled objects and paint) that he created as a response to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VD7rAAAAMAAJ&q=kofi+setordji |title=African Arts |date=2007 |publisher=African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enJDQwAACAAJ&q=kofi+setordji |title=Genocide: Painting, Sculpture Installation : Kofi Setordji : National Museum, Barnes Road, Accra |date=1999 |publisher=National Museum |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Kidenda |first1=Mary Clare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pVZuEAAAQBAJ&dq=kofi+setordji&pg=PA250 |title=Visual Cultures of Africa |last2=Kriel |first2=Lize |last3=Wagner |first3=Ernst |date=2022-04-06 |publisher=Waxmann Verlag |isbn=978-3-8309-4523-9 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Gatore |first=Gilbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NH3MZK55ttMC&dq=kofi+setordji&pg=PR14 |title=The Past Ahead |date=2012-10-04 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-00950-0 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Baderoon |first=Gabeba |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OohPAAAAMAAJ&q=kofi+setordji |title=Contemporary Commonwealth |date=2006 |publisher=Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria |isbn=978-0-7241-0266-2 |language=en}} The work was made between 1998 and 2000 and comprised about 300 pieces which included a scene of a war tribunal. In the middle sat a judge. On the side were defence and prosecuting lawyers.{{Cite journal |last=Woets |first=Rhoda |date=2010 |title=Comprehend the Incomprehensible: Kofi Setordji's Travelling Memorial of the Rwanda Genocide |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20744863 |journal=African Arts |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=52–63 |doi=10.1162/afar.2010.43.3.52 |jstor=20744863 |s2cid=57572395 |issn=0001-9933|url-access=subscription }} The work was shown at the 2000 edition of Dakar Biennale.{{Cite journal |last=Silva |first=Bisi |date=December 2000 |title=Dak'Art 2000: The millennium biennale? |journal=Third Text |language=en |volume=14 |issue=53 |pages=103–106 |doi=10.1080/09528820108576892 |s2cid=147101662 |issn=0952-8822|doi-access=free }}

Setordji's 5-meter high sculpture commissioned by the city of Accra stands in front of the National Theatre of Ghana. The work is titled Entre Amies.{{Cite web |last=Dickersbach |first=Safia |title=Kofi Setordji: The Black Stars of Ghana - Art District |url=https://www.modernghana.com/entertainment/23532/kofi-setordji-the-black-stars-of-ghana-art-district.html |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Modern Ghana |language=en}}

Setordji won the Leisure Award Sculptor of the Year prize in 1990. In 2018, he received The Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Creative Arts Fellowship.{{Cite book |last=Gordon |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrYzAQAAIAAJ&q=kofi+setordji |title=Contemporary Europe Art Guide |date=2009 |publisher=Distributed Art Pub Incorporated |isbn=978-3-7757-2336-7 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Artforum.com |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/rockefeller-foundation-s-bellagio-fellowship-recipients-announced-21288 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=www.artforum.com |language=en-US}} Setordji was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at Nubuke Foundation in 2012.

• Prête-moi ton Rêve (Lend me your dream) 2019-2020{{Cite web |date=2019-07-11 |title=The travelling exhibition "Prête-moi ton rêve" (Lend me Your Dream) opened in Casablanca on June 18, 2019 and closes in Marrakesh in 2020 |url=https://artssummary.com/2019/07/11/the-travelling-exhibition-prete-moi-ton-reve-lend-me-your-dream-opened-in-casablanca-on-june-18-2019-and-closes-in-marrakesh-in-2020/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=Arts Summary |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Momentum |first=The Art |date=2020-12-02 |title=Kofi Setordji: Telling Our Own Stories |url=https://theartmomentum.com/kofi-setordji-telling-our-own-stories/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=The Art Momentum |language=en-GB}}
• New Threads 2016{{Cite web |title=New Threads {{!}} 10 October - 17 November 2016 - Overview |url=https://smocontemporaryart.com/exhibitions/34-new-threads/overview/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=SMO Contemporary Art |language=en}}
• Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier 2004-2005{{Cite web |title=Africa Screams |url=https://kunsthallewien.at/en/exhibition/africa-screams/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=Kunsthalle Wien |language=en-US}}
• Art Cologne 1996, Koelnmesse GmbH in Cologne 1996{{Cite web |last=ArtFacts |title=Kofi Setordji {{!}} Artist |url=https://artfacts.net/artist/kofi-setordji/7429 |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=ArtFacts |language=en}}

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Category:Ghanaian artists

Category:1957 births

Category:Living people

Category:Artists from Accra