Mr. Akonnor Represents UEW at the Global Disability Summit (GDS), Art Expo 2025
Mr. Samuel Kwasi Akonnor, a level 400 student specialising in Art Education with a focus on painting, will be presenting his artistic creations at the Global Disability Summit (GDS) Art Expo 2025. His participation highlights the intersection of creativity and advocacy for individuals with special needs.
The art exhibition titled “Lost in Belongingness” is scheduled for Wednesday, 2nd and Thursday, 3rd April, 2025, in Berlin, Germany.
This Art expo will be hosted at Berlin Station to highlight art that interrogates identity, inclusion, and societal barriers faced by individuals with disabilities.
Akonnor’s participation is curated by a contemporary art and culture scholar, Dr. Francis Ankyiah, to explore fragmented identities and the mission for belonging through polychromatic and monochromatic layered painted textures, that juxtapose personal identity to institutional and personal ruins.
Mr. Akonnor’s paintings question perceptions of able-bodied and disabled persons, weaving narratives of flexibility and visibility while bridging his personal heritage with global dialogues on equity.
Mr. Samuel Kwasi Akonnor is supported on this enterprise by the Robb Foundation and the University of Education, Winneba, which highlights the institution’s commitment to fostering socially engaged artists. Dr. Ankyiah’s curatorial statement frames the works as “a visceral reclamation of voice in spaces of marginalisation,” which project the visions of the summits to advocacy for inclusive futures.
This great achievement of Mr. Samuel Kwasi Akonnor to participate in this Global Disability Summit amplifly Akonnor’s rising profile in contemporary art but also positions Ghanaian creativity at the heart of international disability advocacy. Follow his journey as art becomes a catalyst for empathy and systemic change.
Akonnor’s Exhibition Statement
Painting with forceful brushwork reveals the experience of cervical dystonia condition which causes my head to spontaneously shift backwards in speech by transforming my vulnerability into visual poetic expressions. The combination of realistic elements with semiabstract techniques in my artwork matches my experience of controlled movements alongside uncontrolled movements which appear in both colourful polychrome and monochrome acrylic paint products.
I use both smooth and rough textures within these self-portraits to present physically the exhausting experience of keeping certain thoughts private while engaging my viewers to touch them first-hand.
My artwork effectively contrasts defined anatomical elements with fluid abstract movements, thereby elucidating the intricate relationship between my deliberate artistic techniques and the involuntary responses of my nervous system. This juxtaposition reflects the dynamic interplay between cognitive intention and instinctual expression in my creative process.