Joseph Awuah-Darko, a celebrated figure in Ghana’s art scene, is accused of non-payment following sales of works by several artists who claim that he has built his career at the expense of their livelihoods. According to an Afrikmag investigation titled “Gallery of Greed”, the accusations suggest that Awuah-Darko has withheld significant sums from the sales of their artworks through his art foundation, The Noldor Residency, where he operates as the Director. Awuah-Darko first came under fire a few months ago when Foster Sakyiamah sued him for withholding funds from the sale of his works. The Noldor Residency sold artworks by Sakyiamah and was responsible for paying the artist $266,527.03, a figure confirmed in an account statement The Noldor Residency provided to Sakyiamah on the 8th of April 2022. The agency, however, never settled the funds. In light of this, Sakyiamah describes his relationship with Awuah-Darko as patron to predator. This is because the gallery has made sales and sent him a financial report stating that all the galleries and the clients that have been buying the works have paid in full. This means Awuah-Darko’s foundation would have taken their 40% share while Sakyiamah has still not been paid. Instead the money owed to the artist was piling up with the artist being sent small amounts in between. That is when Sakyiamah decided to stop working until all his money is paid in full.
Seth Fiifi, an artist and brother to Sakyiamah, confirmed that upon threatening to stop working until he was paid, Awuah-Darko gave Sakyiamah a payment plan, which he didn’t follow through. In response, Sakyiamah decided to pursue the matter legally through Joachim Baazeng of Kwame Boafo and Associates, who pointed to accusations of unjust enrichment and breaches of contractual obligations. Explaining the dispute, Baazeng noted that the matter centres on a dealer agreement signed on the 9th of August 2021 between Sakyiamah and JAD Advisory Limited, with Awuah-Darko acting as the company’s representative. Under the contract, JAD Advisory was appointed to promote, exhibit and sell Sakyiamah’s artworks, with profits shared on a 40:60 basis after deducting reasonable expenses and commissions. According to Baazeng, JAD Advisory Limited, through its agency called The Noldor Residency, sold artworks by Sakyiamah and was responsible for paying $266,527.03. Further to this, the lawyer also highlighted another layer to the controversy: revealing that there are artworks taken and sold personally by Awuah-Darko outside the dealership arrangement. These transactions, unaccounted for to date, form part of the reliefs sought in court, with the legal team demanding a full accounting of these sales.
Secondly is Ishmeal, a contemporary artist that has been painting for over 20 years now. Afrikmag’s “Gallery of Greed” investigative report has discovered that Awuah-Darko owes him more than $60,000. While working with the Noldor Residency, Ishmeal missed his biggest solo exhibition show in Amsterdam over unclear reasons while Awuah-Darko was present to exhibit his works, despite his contract with the agency stipulating that the artist must be present at all his exhibitions. It has been almost a year now of him still not receiving any funds, instead Awuah-Darko threatens to file for bankruptcy on behalf of Noldor Residency which could lead to Ishmeal getting nothing.
Thirdly is Elizabeth Sakyiamah, a 22-year-old abstract artist whom at the age of 19, without the guidance of lawyer, signed a contract with a new art agency created by Joseph Awuah-Darko, called The Judith Ellen Foundation. Elizabeth met Awuah-Darko through her brother, Foster Sakyiamah, and is currently owed $25, 656 and €6,330 by Awuah-Darko, respectively. Elizabeth says that after reaching out to the foundation’s accountant several times to no avail, she had no option but to personally reach out to Awuah-Darko from whom she has received nothing but stories such as him not being able to pay because he was moving apartments or he was in the hospital. Despite everything that has happened, Elizabeth is grateful for the exposure she got from Awuah-Darko’s foundation, noting that “in some way that’s helped because I didn’t see myself pursuing art.” Elizabeth looks forward to furthering education.
Brush Daddy, an artist who spoke on anonymity, revealed that he ended his contract with The Noldor Residency abrubtly after a few weeks because he discovered the agency was operating on an art heist scheme. He explains that the contract stipulates that all artists are to to submit 21 artworks as a pledge to the residency. These 21 artworks are not supposed to be sold; they are only to be exhibited to market the agency and the artists. He discovered, however, from auction websites that the artworks were being sold. Brush Daddy couldn’t ignore that and ended his contract abruptly. These stories of canvas of deceit are not limited to Foster, Ishmeal, Elizabeth and Brush Daddy. There are more artists who have ignorantly patronised Joseph Awuah-Darko’s businesses. So far, Joseph Awuah-Darko has only been taken to court by Foster Sakyiamah as efforts to settle the matter amicably have been unproductive.
Lawyer Joachim Baazeng revealed that the case is progressing steadily in the court such that on the 24th of June 2024 when they mounted the action, there was a counsel by the name of Douglas Adjei, Esq., of Regent Law Firm who called him and stated that they had received the writ and that they wanted to settle the proposed settlement amicably completely out of the court system. Baazeng insisted that since the writ has already been filed, they’ve been served so if there was any settlement, they would have to do it formally in the court system and draft the terms of settlement for adoption as consent judgment by the court. Douglas Adjei, Esq. agreed and said that he was going to consult his client and propose the terms of the settlements but he never got in touch until recently when another lawyer, Hamza Alhassan, who has been appointed by JAD Advisory Services Limited, brought up their desire to settle the matter. The case has now reached the pre-trial settlement conference stage as of the 29th of November 2024. If a resolution is not reached, the matter will proceed to full trial. For now, Foster and his legal team remain resolute.
