"Akirash" - Abdul Rasheed Olaniyi Akindiya

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My aim is to put life, beauty and a meaning back into materials which people think that they are useless waste. I am an artist whose artworks are ranging from paintings, sculptures, mixed media, installations up to draughtsman-ship. I belong to several organizations like “Pan-African Circle of Artists” and “Foundation for Contemporary Arts” and I took part in many group exhibitions. Apart from that I had seven solo exhibitions in Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana and Benin.

Being a mentor for art students from New York, Greece and Ireland and also for artists in Accra since 2003 occupies most of my time. Beside I got involved in the project “Arts and Aids” in Accra, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Peru and India in 2003 as a coordinator. The aim is to remove the stigma of people who are HIV-positive.

While I was artist in residence in Alexandria/Egypt in 2005 I founded the workshop “Art with Akirash” for children to bring out their creativity.

The latest project I got involved in 2006 takes place in the Psychiatric Hospital of Accra. Together with two other artists we want to occupy the patients by offering art therapy.