Kofi Setordji
Kofi Setordji (born 1957) is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Ghana. His works range from graphic design, textile designing, sculpture and painting.
Kofi Setordji
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- Name
- Kofi Setordji
- Born
- 1957
- Birthplace
- Ghana
- Occupation
- Artist
- Education
- Accra Methodist Secondary School
- Languages
- English
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wikidata · Q3816136 · wikipedia · Kofi Setordji
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kofi Setordji • Birth Name — Kofi Setordji • Born — 1957 • Birthplace — Ghana • Occupation — Artist • Education — Accra Methodist Secondary School
Education and career
Education and career
Setordji was born in 1957 in Accra. 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. 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. In addition, he is a co-founder and former creative director of Nubuke Foundation, a contemporary art space in Accra.
Notable works
Notable works
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. 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. The work was shown at the 2000 edition of Dakar Biennale. 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.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions
• Prête-moi ton Rêve (Lend me your dream) 2019-2020 • New Threads 2016 • Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier 2004-2005 • Art Cologne 1996, Koelnmesse GmbH in Cologne 1996
Awards and honours
Setordji won the Leisure Award Sculptor of the Year prize in 1990. In 2018, he received The Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Creative Arts Fellowship. Setordji was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at Nubuke Foundation in 2012.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Kofi Setordji, revision 1308707805 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Kofi Setordji artist profile. ARTZUID.
- 2.Kofi Setordji - Biography. SMO Contemporary Art.
- 3.Kofi Setordji. Nubuke Foundation.
- 4.Fall, N'Goné. An Anthology of African Art: The Twentieth Century. D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers. 2002. 978-1-891024-38-2.
- 5.Publications Editions Bleu Outremer. Revue noire. 1999.
- 6.Kofi Setordji: Retrospective, 1997–2012. African Arts. 47. 1. 85–87. 2014-03-01. 0001-9933.
- 7.Council, Ghana Studies. Newsletter. Ghana Studies Council. 2008.
- 8.IC Magazines. African Business. 2007.
- 9.Kofi Setordji - Biography. SMO Contemporary Art.
- 10.Lauer, Helen. Identity Meets Nationality: Voices from the Humanities. African Books Collective. 2011. 978-9988-647-96-4.
- 11.African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles. African Arts. 2007.
- 12.National Museum. Genocide: Painting, Sculpture Installation : Kofi Setordji : National Museum, Barnes Road, Accra. 1999.
- 13.Kidenda, Mary Clare. Visual Cultures of Africa. Waxmann Verlag. 2022-04-06. 978-3-8309-4523-9.
- 14.Gatore, Gilbert. The Past Ahead. Indiana University Press. 2012-10-04. 978-0-253-00950-0.
- 15.Baderoon, Gabeba. Contemporary Commonwealth. Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria. 2006. 978-0-7241-0266-2.
- 16.Woets, Rhoda. Comprehend the Incomprehensible: Kofi Setordji's Travelling Memorial of the Rwanda Genocide. African Arts. 43. 3. 52–63. 2010. 0001-9933.
- 17.Silva, Bisi. Dak'Art 2000: The millennium biennale?. Third Text. 14. 53. 103–106. December 2000. 0952-8822.
- 18.Dickersbach, Safia. Kofi Setordji: The Black Stars of Ghana - Art District. Modern Ghana.
- 19.Gordon, Mark. Contemporary Europe Art Guide. Distributed Art Pub Incorporated. 2009. 978-3-7757-2336-7.
- 20.Artforum.com. www.artforum.com.
- 21.The travelling exhibition "Prête-moi ton rêve" (Lend me Your Dream) opened in Casablanca on June 18, 2019 and closes in Marrakesh in 2020. Arts Summary. 2019-07-11.
- 22.Momentum, The Art. Kofi Setordji: Telling Our Own Stories. The Art Momentum. 2020-12-02.
- 23.New Threads 10 October - 17 November 2016 - Overview. SMO Contemporary Art.
- 24.Africa Screams. Kunsthalle Wien.
- 25.ArtFacts. Kofi Setordji Artist.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Sculpture
6,174 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Kōhei NawaArtist
- KōkeiArtist
- Kolyu FichetoArtist
- Konrad EberhardArtist
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