Correction: On November 1, 2019, the opening date of the “SANKOFA” exhibition was accidentally listed as Sunday, Nov. 10 in the OCA Newsletter. The actual opening date of the exhibition is Thursday, Nov. 14. We apologize for the confusion.
The City of Atlanta, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) is pleased to announce the dual exhibition of “SANKOFA” from international artists, Alfred Addo and Andrea Mckenzie, opening Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019.
Born in the West African country of Ghana to a family of artists, Addo has been exposed to art since infancy. His primary inspiration came from his father, who exhibited his work regularly and challenged Addo to produce unique artwork. Although Addo was passionate about art, he also possessed a keen interest in the physical sciences, a field he found satisfyingly challenging. He was torn between going to college to study medicine and pursuing his passion to be a professional artist. In the end, he chose to follow his passion and pursue art full-time.
Since then, Addo has specialized in sculpture as his core medium. Interestingly, his physical science background led him to experiment with different materials, including sawdust, which he played with as a child in the sawmill where his father bought and cut wood for his sculptures. Naturally, Addo grew up loving this medium and decided to make it the main material he uses in all his artwork. Passionate about the sustainability of the earth, Addo perfected the method of recycling sawdust and waste materials to create various types of sculptures and relief works.
Addo has successfully participated in many international art exhibitions throughout Johannesburg; Cape Town; New York; Chicago; Washington D.C.; Miami; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Atlanta; San Diego, CA; Martha’s Vineyard, and of course in his home city Accra, Ghana.
A true island girl, Andrea Mckenzie comes from one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world, Trinidad and Tobago. Mckenzie’s natural aptitude for creativity was nurtured at an early age because of her family’s involvement in the nation’s world-famous Carnival.
She attributes her extraordinary creative ability to her family’s creative legacy. The art of painting quickly bonded with her identity, making her a household name on the island by her mid-20s. Mckenzie’s fascination with contrast, textures, and fabrics was the fuel behind her kaleidoscope-like pieces. She uniquely infused glass, acrylic, and other materials on varying canvas, which propelled her into achieving a viable international clientele.
Throughout her young career, she has exhibited works in multiple nations including Trinidad and Tobago, and neighboring Caribbean islands. Mckenzie’s art has also been exhibited in New York, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, London, and Australia.
In 2019, Mckenzie was honored with The Black I Am “Power, Art & Creativity” Award.