Rufai Zakari (b.1990) is based between Accra and Bawku, Ghana. He completed his apprenticeship under Mozzay, a senior artist in Nima, Accra. In 2011, Rufai Zakari graduated from the Ghanatta College of Art and Design. In his work, Zakari examines consumerism, environmental pollution, labour, trade, and the perils of industrialization in contemporary Ghanian Society. The founder of Rujab Eco-Art Foundation in his hometown of Bawku, Zakari bases his practice on the recycling of waste in the streets of Ghana. After decades of tribal conflict which took countless lives and left the city in ruins, Zakari is now looking to the future with optimism and a strong ambition to rebuild what has been lost, while inspiring hope in his community.
Solo exhibitions include Girls Like Us, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Tower Bridge, London, UK (2024); Enigyee, San Luis Potosí Center for the Arts, Mexico City, Mexico (2023); In Bold She Stands, Contemporary Art Matters, Ohio, USA (2023); There is Still Tomorrow, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2022); Gallery T293, Rome, Italy (2022); A New Dawn, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2021).
Group exhibitions include A Gentle Seed, Mclennon Pen Co Gallery in Austin, Texas, US (2024); Emerging Echoes From Ghana: Reflecting Stories of Identity, Contemporary Art Matters, Columbus, Ohio, US (2024); New Wave Art Wknd, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach, USA (2023); Accra! The Rise of a Global Art Community, The Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, USA (2023); 1-54 NYC, with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, New York City, USA (2023); The Day I Saw You: Portraits from the AMMA Foundation, Queretaro Contemporary Art Museum, Mexico (2023); Savings: The art of saving and preserving, Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany (2023); Untitled Miami Beach, with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Miami, USA (2022); The Armory Show, The Breeder Gallery, New York, USA (2022); Home is where the Art is, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands (2022); Global Positioning, Public Art Fund, New York, Boston and Chicago, USA (2022); Intersecting Identities, Arushi Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (2022); Entre-acte, Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (2021); More is More: Visual Richness in Contemporary Art, Akron Art Museum, USA (2021); 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK (2021); Devil’s in the Detail, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2020); This Exhibition is Untitled, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, Ghana (2020); CirculArt Sustainable Art Exhibition by Eco Reward, Casa Trasacco, Accra, Ghana (2019); World Behind the Horizon, Gess Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany (2019); Sustainable Art Workshop, Merck Foundation, Dubai, UAE (2019); Sustainable Art Workshop, British High Commission, Accra, Ghana (2018); Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, French Embassy and Alliance Francaise Accra, Ghana (2018); Yoomo Be Ga, Recycled Art Exhibition, Museum of Science and Technology, Accra, Ghana (2017); 555 Exhibition by Kings Crown Media, Horizon Office, Accra, Ghana (2016); Ghana Netherland Cultural Week Exhibition, Accra (2016); Uncooked Culture Art Exhibition, London, UK (2015); African Champions, mural in collaboration with (You Are For Africa), Lagos, Nigeria (2015); Go Go Ghana, Imago Mundi (2014).
Highlights and collections
Rufai Zakari's work can be found in important private and public collections including Pizzuti Collection at Columbus Museum Of Art, USA; Arthur Lewis Collection, USA; Easton Capital/John Friedman Collection, USA; Nubuke Foundation, Ghana; The Bunker Artspace Museum, USA; The Ditau Collection, South Africa; Susan Goodman Collection, USA; VG Collection; Akron Museum Collection, US; JOM Collection, Senegal; AMMA Foundation, Mexico; The Africa Centre Collection, London, UK.