We at Afrikart.Ghana and at Isshaq foundation are excited to announce our collaboration! This collaboration is dear to our hearts as it fulfills the visions of both institutions about creative and visual arts development.

“Like the way a sculptor sculpts human figures with clay, I sculpt my figures with the brush.” 

These are the words of Isshaq Ismail, a passionate artist with a dream and a vision. Afrikart.Ghana in collaboration with Isshaq Foundation is pleased to present Opulence(2021); a colourful and vibrant face painting in impasto depicted in accentuated features using brown hues. This is typical of Isshaq's work, which often has the tendency to speak volumes about the sweet-and-sour nature of life through its bold shapes and effervescent colouring as well as the thick and sober nature of his figures.

Isshaq Ismail, Opulence, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 18x12 inches, image courtesy Afrikart.Ghana. 

The carefully selected tones and hues of Opulence invoke the viewer’s most personal bittersweet memories, while the shapes used form an image of a person shrouded in mystery. In this way, Isshaq draws out the hidden desire of every human being to be a person of opulence and influence. Isshaq’s desire, however, goes beyond just wielding wealth and influence. His dream is to help make art more well-known and respected in his home country, Ghana.

As the first step to fulfilling this dream, the Isshaq Foundation, in collaboration with Afrikart.Ghana is pleased to announce that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Opulence will be donated to support creative and visual arts in basic and secondary education in Ghana. This collaboration was birthed by a common goal—to see art knowledge and appreciation grow in Ghana and ultimately, in Africa. The vision has set basic schools as its initial target in order to create in young minds the possibility of a future that is shaped by their own dreams, and not that of a society that only supports a specific type of career. Isshaq’s vision is to create a society where any person, regardless of their work, can be a person of opulence. As an artist who made it to the top by sheer willpower, his willingness to learn, and a desire to make his voice heard through his art, Isshaq’s greatest desire now is to make the turbulent journey a bit easier for young people whose dreams resonate with his.

The donation project begins with selected basic schools, each of which will be receiving financial aid and art materials to foster the teaching and learning of art. In this way, Afrikart.Ghana and the Isshaq Foundation hope to draw attention to art and the need to assert its importance in African society.