Adora Mba Is Shifting The African Contemporary Art Market's Narrative

An invitation to read my first-ever piece published in a print magazine

Amanda Kabuiku, the founder and editor-in-chief of Naïfs Magazine is a thought-provoking journalist who has written for the likes of i-D, Le Monde, Coveteur, and Nylon. We met as contributors to All The Pretty Birds - the platform created by digital talent Tamu McPherson. I interviewed her for the latter to debunk the myth of the Parisian woman. After that, Amanda and I couldn’t stop exchanging views on the fashion industry and culture in general, especially as two Black French women. So, when she launched Naïfs Magazine and invited me to become a contributor, I immediately said yes.

Naïfs Magazine is a bi-annual publication that explores decolonisation through fashion and culture. For my first piece, I explored an unknown territory: contemporary art in Africa. I wanted to share this piece with you because it is an eye-opener in the art world and how dynamic the scene is in Africa.

Have a good read!

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I met Adora Mba, founder of the Accra-based ADA/ contemporary art gallery, on a beautiful sunny day. Albeit with a tight schedule, the journalist-turned-gallerist made time for a brunch in the cute and opulent village-like Saint John’s Wood area of London. When I arrived, Mba was on a call finalizing the last bits of the exhibition ‘Mother of Mankind.’ For the occasion, the Ghanaian, Nigerian, and British gallerist channeled her inner curator inviting 16 global Black female artists to express their vision of the Black female experience through their art. “I am excited to be in London right now because I get to be a curator. Discovering artwork, putting stories together, working with artists to bring their vision to life within a space is the best part of the gallerist job,” she told me passionately. I had to remind myself to put my recorder on because Mba’s enthusiasm when talking about art is contagious. I didn’t interview her; ours was a conversation. We discussed Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa’s state of art. And one thing was evident during our talk: she is determined to make Accra, Ghana, and by extension, Africa a place of value for contemporary art. Until a decade ago, African artists were leaving their home countries for Europe or the United States. But with the arrival of social media, notably Instagram, a shift happened. “I am finding it wonderful that the Ghanaian art industry now has infrastructures, residencies, etc. Artists meet each other, collectors, and gallerists like me. They start representing themselves now,” she told me. If it is  a reality that the West is still dictating what is popular or not in the African art market, the needle is moving. And to be honest, it has been for decades: Mba’s father and grandfathers were contemporary art collectors. “Fine art has always been attributed to the West, which is funny when you think about it. You know Picasso took his ideas from Africa,” she stressed. Mba is well aware of the environment she is evolving in. The white male gaze undeniably dominates the art world. From the gallerists to the collectors, they are the tastemakers. Case in point, the majority of Mba’s clients are from Europe and America. Yet, she carves her path undeterred. It is a reality she confronts daily. “I deal with a lot of white male privilege, but I feel like I am the same as any other Black woman in any other industry. I have to go through it, so that’s fine,” she answered briefly. That part of the conversation made me realize my question wasn’t the most clever. Adora Mba reminded me with a graceful no-nonsense that we weren’t here for this. She kindly redirected me onto the subject: the art scene in Ghana and Africa. 

My work has always been published online, so the emotion I feel each time I receive an edition of Naïfs Magazine is indescribable. I religiously keep each edition that I thoroughly read like a book. It isn’t just about my work but also all the writers and creatives involved in this project.

Adora Mba didn’t choose to open her gallery in Accra because it is one of the places she calls home. Nigeria, the second-largest art market after South Africa on the continent - and Mba’s other home - seemed a safer and sounder choice she didn’t make. And for a good reason. Ghanaian artists are taking the art world by storm. Mba credits artists like El Anatsui, Amoako Boafo, Derek Fordjour, or Lynette Yiadom Boakye for putting Ghana under the industry’s radar. “Ghana and Nigeria are different from other countries. Now, we have international museums and galleries coming to us, rather than the other way around. People are noticing all these incredible artists are coming out of Ghana. And they want more of the talents Ghana is producing,” she emphasized. Adora Mba’s choice to establish her gallery in Accra reminds me of Cameroonian art entrepreneur Diane Audrey Ngako. After many years in France, she returned to her native Cameroon to create the Douala Art Fair. In an interview, the multihyphenate told WorldRemit, “African art cannot be on display only in London or New York. It needs to stay in Africa and serve our people.We have to create a generation of African buyers.” Both Adora Mba and Diane Audrey Ngako embody this new generation set to turn their countries and the continent into strong art markets. 

Through her contemporary art gallery, Adora Mba wants to transform Accra into an art capital. To achieve her goal, she decided to work with emerging artists new to the market. As a gallerist in Ghana, Mba’s work and mission are to nurture and mentor talents. “I want to coach, teach, grow, protect and help my artists navigate the international market. A lot of them come into it completely unknown,” she revealed. Mba’s position as a gallerist, curator, coach, and mentor is pivotal in a country where the government offers little to no help to foster the art industry and artists. True to herself, Adora Mba wants to give her artists a full-on experience. For the opening of the gallery, she flew her first artist Collins Obijiaku from Nigeria to Ghana. “The artists I put in my gallery are up-and-coming, so I want to introduce them to the market. But more importantly, I want them to have their first solo exhibition with me before more prominent galleries show them. And I also want them to experience Accra and Ghana,” she told me. Mba kept on telling me about Collins Obijiaku’s exhibition because it was their first for both. She remembered the stress, tears, and joy, but above all, she reacalled it as a significant human experience. It was the first time Collins Obijiaku took a plane and visited another country. And to make it even better, his friends came from Nigeria to support him. Community and the human connection are at the core of Mba’s work and are the driving force of her gallery. “Giving them the chance to get on a plane and leave their countries for the first time, these are things that are going to ingrain into them as humans and influence their future work,” Mba confided. 

The second exhibition was as emotional as the first one. Similar to Collins Obijiaku, fellow Nigerian artists came to support Eniwaye Oluwaseyi. If each show is the opportunity for the artists to bond, it is also one for Mba to up the ante. Oluwaseyi distinguishes himself for his dark-skinned characters adorned in vivid and bold colors. To enhance the striking palette of the artist, Mba had the gallery’s walls painted in a dark chocolate hue. Again, nothing is innocuous with the gallerist but intentional. “I like changing the space for each of my artists. I want it to feel like a different experience. I do it for the local audience because I want Ghanaians to be more interested in art. I want them to get involved with it. That’s why I transform the space,” she added. And her approach to designing the space for each artist is on point. For ‘Entenr Paradise,’ the solo exhibition of South African visual artist Zandile Tshabalala, Mba credits the genius of her Creative Director, Leroy Wadie, who made clouds out of mosquito nets. The installation intrigued so many collectors that they started to ask how much were the clouds!

Enter Paradise I, Zandile Tshabalala

Mba is proud of her work. Each time she made a point to tell me all three show were sold out. And understandably, she works hard and is thoughtful abour her every move. Even in her reason to not show a Ghanaian artist for the sake of having one. When the moment finally came, it was because she found the right one in the person of Hamid Nii Nortey. This attitude is in line with Mba’s belief that Instagram acts as an excellent marketing tool and portfolio for artists but that their numbers is irrelevant to her. She justified her stance with a thorough argumentation, “I don’t care that they have 10k likes on Instagram. I deal with emerging artists, and a lot of them are self-taught. Some celebrities might follow and like their work, but ultimately what matters to me is their technique and ability to tell a story. There is value in technique; for that reason, I think some artists should behave themselves,” she told me. These words though incisive mean well. Mba is well aware many artists in Africa and the diaspora don’t come from well-off families. Though she acknowledges their natural talent, she knows knowledge and genius are necessary for such a competitive market. She recommends that they get a BA or an MA, and when it is not possible, Mba herself looks for free courses to help them polish their craft. 

Knowledge is currency, and the topic led us to talk about pricing, and again Mba hit the nail with grace and honesty: “For the first five years, I think no artist - no matter how successful they are - should ask more than 5k. I do not believe in the reasoning of raising their price because they are in demand. In my opinion, a gallerist who raises an artist’s price for that reason is a bad one. What happens then when the artist is not popular anymore? Are they going to lower their price? It’s a dangerous thing to do. Being in demand doesn’t mean raising one’s price. There is a line of trust to have with the collectors. You can’t take advantage of them just because they have money.” Mba is vocal about money for another reason: the gap between female and male artists. “I find it abhorrent that some female artists who graduated from great art schools and produce amazing work exhibited at incredible group and solo shows in L.A. or New York tell me their pieces are worth £2000, while male artists whose experience is nowhere near theirs ask for £10,000,” she told me. Ghana is the third country with the most female entrepreneurs worldwide after Uganda and Botswana, so hearing how Mba coaches female artists to better value and stand for themselves seemed a meaningful way to close our chat. I didn’t interview Adora Mba; ours was a conversation I left hopeful. For too long African art belonged to historical or ‘primitive’ art museums in the West, as if it was frozen in time. One exhibition at a time, I am convinced Mba’s name will be synonymous with redefining the African art market socially, culturally, and economically. And all this from Accra.

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