Prince Gyasi

Prince Gyasi Nyantakyi (born 30 April 1995) also known by the artist name Prince Gyasi is a Ghanaian international visual artist.[1] He is the co-founder of Boxedkids, a non-profit organization helping kids from Accra get an education.[2][3]

Prince Gyasi
Portrait of Prince Gyasi.
Born
Prince Gyasi Nyantakyi

(1995-04-30) April 30, 1995
Accra, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
Known forVisual Art, Photography

Early life

He had his secondary education at the Accra Academy senior high school in Accra.

Career

Prince started taking pictures in 2011 and bought his first iPhone in 2014 which is the primary tool he uses in creating his art pieces.[4] He began with snapshots of friends, family and models from his hometown of Ghana and then realized he could seriously use his phone as an arts creation tool, as a means of expression.[5]

He using an iPhone to shoot is a way to distinguish his art from other visual artists and photographers to break the codes of this singular and elitist art. His work is all about conveying feelings through colors and giving the floor to the people that are left aside from the society.[6] He indeed considers his use of colors as a source of therapy to his audience. Motherhood, Fatherhood, childhood can be considered as his most characteristic themes.[7]

Exhibition

Prince Gyasi was signed to Nil Gallery Paris in 2018 which gave him the chance to exhibit his art pieces at multiple art fairs in the USA.[8]

He has exhibited in the Seattle Contemporary Art fair, Texas Contemporary Art Fair,[9] Artsy & Context Art Miami and pulse Contemporary Art Fair (Art Basel Miami).[10] Prince has also exhibited some of his works at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair in South Africa.[11]

A Great Day In Accra

In December 2018, he got commissioned by Apple Inc. to work on a project in Ghana titled A Great Day In Accra to push the Hiplife music genre in Ghana to the world.[12] In this project he shot Ghanaian hiplife musicians like Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Reggie Rockstone, Okyeame Kwame, Rab Bakari, Abrewa Nana, Hammer of The Last Two, Beat Menace, Gurunkz, Joey B, EL (rapper), DJ Breezy, Stargo, Kirani Ayat, Akan (Musician), Kiddblack, Ansah Live, Imani N.A.D, Toyboi, Kwesi Arthur and Shadow.[13][14]

GQ Summer/Spring Issue 2020

In December 2019, Prince got commissioned by GQ Style to shoot Burna Boy for their Summer/Spring Issue 2020 in Ikoyi, Lagos. The shoot was titled "Global Giant" because of the release of Burna's album "African Giant".[15][16]

Speaking Engagements

2019 Skoll World Forum

Prince Gyasi was invited on 9 April 2019 to give a speech about his creative works during the 2019 Skoll World Forum at the Oxford University in London. During his speech he spoke about the stories behind his work of arts and his influences. He also spoke about his non-profit organization Boxed kids which he co-founded.[17]

Notable Mentions
  • He was mentioned by Vanity Fair as one of the top 9 visual artist to follow in 2018.[18]
  • Prince Gyasi was part of five black photographers interviewed by Good Morning America to speak about their work and about Vogue's historic cover with Beyoncé.[19]
  • Prince Gyasi has been featured on the BBC Africa for his exceptional way of making images with his iPhone.[20]
  • Prince has also been featured by CNN style as one of the seven leading African photographers from across the continent.[21]

References
  1. "The Colour of Hope". www.magzter.com. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  2. "Prince Gyasi Photographs The Colors, Faces And Spirit Of Ghana". IGNANT. 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  3. "Avec son téléphone, Prince Gyasi documente avec talent le quotidien ghanéen". Cheese - The big picture by Konbini (in French). Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  4. Online, Peace FM. "Prince Gyasi; Ghanaian Visual Artist Collaborates With Apple To Project Hiplife Genre". peacefmonline.com. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  5. "Hiplife Music highlighted in new Apple Music project by Ghanaian Photographer". Live 91.9 FM. 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  6. "Prince Gyasi". nataal.com. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  7. America, Good Morning. "5 black photographers reflect on their art, Vogue's history-making Beyoncé cover". Good Morning America. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  8. "Nil Gallery - Texas Contemporary 2018". Texas Contemporary. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  9. "CONTROL: IDENTITY, POWER AND RESISTANCE". AFROPUNK. 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  10. "2018 | All Exhibitors". pulseartfair.com. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  11. "Ghanaian visual artist Prince Gyasi for Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2019". Citi Newsroom. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  12. "Sarkodie, Obrafour, Edem, others featured in Apple Music's Hiplife Essentials playlist". Entertainment. 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  13. "Visual Artist Prince Gyasi Gathers Ghana's Hiplife Greats in 'A Great Day In Accra' Photo Series". OkayAfrica. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  14. "Reggie Rockstone, Kwesi Arthur, Joey B, others featured in Apple Music's new documentary". Entertainment. 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  15. "A look at Burna Boy's N11M worth of fashion items in his latest GQ feature". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  16. "Burna Boy Covers The Spring/Summer Issue of GQ Style". P.M. News. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  17. "Visual artist Prince Gyasi speaks at 2019 Skoll World Forum at Oxford University". Citi Newsroom. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  18. "Prince Gyasi: The face behind Apple's latest project "A Great Day In Accra"". Proudly Ghanaian! | EnewsGH. 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  19. "5 black photographers reflect on their art and Tyler Mitchell's history-making Vogue cover". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  20. "Accra's Instagram artist on capturing life". BBC News. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  21. Rosado, Ana (2019-04-29). "Experts name top African photographers across the continent". CNN Style. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
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