Zohra Opoku
Zohra Opoku
artist
“Residencies create an environment that nurtures an artist just ‘to be’. It is not just about the temporary experience of being on a residency, memories and energies are carried on a long time after one is completed. ”
Why are residency programes important components of an artists’ career?
Because they are creating an environment that nurtures the artist just ‘to be’.
All of my past 6 residencies became key points in my artist development. They helped me grow in my art practice, helped me process accomplishments and created space for self-critical contemplation, especially through dialogues with fellow artists from across the globe.
It is particularly the friendships and continued conversations after a programme has finished which still enrich me today. They are not just about the temporary experience of being on residency: memories and energies are carried on a long time after one is completed.
What are your initial impressions of the arts scene in the UAE?
I know very little about the art scene in the UAE and that makes it stimulating to be able to discover it during my stay. I am based Ghana which is hard to compare as it has quite a small art scene with a fair number of art spaces and professionals and an amazingly talented, growing art community, both intellectual and commercial. I believe that I instigate a positive change by working in Ghana and bringing its energy to places like the UAE.
Zohra Opoku, Debie, 2017, Courtesy of Zohra Opoku and Mariane Ibrahim Gallery.jpg
Zohra Opoki is exhibiting with Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Seattle, Art Dubai Residents, R4.