Educator, researcher, and artist Senam Okudzeto has received the prestigious Paul Boesch Prize for 2023 in Switzerland. This award is one of Switzerland’s highest art awards. Having excelled in creating politically charged artworks, Okudzeto will receive a sum of 50,000 Swiss francs. The Paul Boesch Foundation honors socio-political works of artists all over the world. The prestigious award ceremony, held on August 24, 2023, at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland, was a commentary on the artist’s contribution to the art world.
Okudzeto’s artistic prowess extends across diverse mediums, including painting, film, and installations. Her work is grounded in a distinctive “Afro-Dada” practice, which intricately interlaces unexpected narrative connections. This approach allows her to delve into identity politics, material culture, and previously marginalized socio-economic and political histories.
Okudzeto revives forgotten forms of material and architectural culture through her installations. She gives a voice to the lost or hidden stories they carry, focusing on contemporary West Africa and its diaspora. Her practice draws attention to unexpected juxtapositions in the material culture of post-independence West Africa through the lens of her fluid identity as a West African of European and American descent.
With a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London (2022), Okudzeto’s influence extends beyond her art. She has an extensive teaching background spanning African studies, material culture, architectural and art history, and practical and theoretical approaches to drawing. She spearheaded the ‘Fun Feminism’ exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel (September 2022 – March 2023) and founded the NGO Art in Social Structures (AiSS), a project dedicated to democratizing visual culture, heritage initiatives, and education in Ghana.
Named after the renowned Bernese artist Paul Boesch (1889 – 1969), the Paul Boesch Foundation has supported artists and art students since its establishment in 2014. Notable past recipients include Pamela Rosenkranz, Mai-Thu Perret, and Manuel Burgener.
