Eric Agyare empowers the next generation of African creatives
|Published
Eric Agyare is a Ghanaian creative enthusiast who takes great pride in connecting the dots.
Whether that's facilitating the school broadcast for three portraits of Amoako Boafo being launched into space or Kanye West's Donda album streaming in Ghana, one is likely to find him involved and executing the task brilliantly.
With 13 years of experience working across the visual communication and marketing industries in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Senegal, Agyare has first-hand knowledge of how impactful the creative arts sector is.
His academic journey and practices at home and abroad have made him master a seamless way of building a business out of any creative endeavour, and he brings that expertise to bear on the projects he undertakes.
More importantly, since 2019, as the founder of Artlife Matters, Agyare has spearheaded Artitude, a capacity-building project aimed at demystifying the misconceptions surrounding the study of art in African senior high schools while promoting art as a sustainable career.
Through workshops, mentorships, internships and exposés, he's engaged with over five thousand (5,000) students at some twelve (12) schools in Accra, Takoradi and Akosombo.
Agyare has also enlightened over 700 guardians with the hope that they allow, support and take pride in their children pursuing the arts. The goal, he shares, is to influence his community to actualise the cultural, social and economic benefits of the creative industry.
He is also an art consultant bringing to life the dreams and aspirations of African artists on the continent and in the diaspora via his skillset, including talent management, visual communication and marketing, project and program management, business development, research and curatorial service.
In 2021, Agyare secured a deal with the South Korean multinational appliance and consumer electronics corporation as a global partner for the Samsung Art Store.
Through that, the works of over fifteen (15) African artists are displayed on the platform, benefitting financially and getting exposure to a worldwide audience.
The partnership averages over a million hourly views monthly. He is particularly interested in how art and technology could enrich sustainable living.
In 2022, Agyare curated and managed the "linesandcolors" exhibition held in Budapest, Hungary, and also executed the digital curation for that year's Accra Art Week in Ghana. Two years prior, he project managed Ghanaian artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo's Nkyinkyimza Festival.
Having proved himself as a leader and a team player with a global mindset, Agyare is well on his way to becoming a vital player in establishing sustainable homegrown solutions that support and empower creatives worldwide.
GQ: The name of your company, Artlife Matters, is an interesting one. What’s the thinking behind choosing that?
Eric Aygare (EA): I grew up in Accra, where creative thinkers had little or no support systems. Despite the struggles, I saw the need to advocate for the arts through initiatives that empower and give the industry the required attention.
During that same period, there was a global protest against police brutality as the world witnessed the murder of George Floyd in the United States of America. "Black Lives Matter" became the core message that characterised this global event.
For me, all lives matter, the same as artists' lives matter. So, it made sense to use Artlife Matters as the organisation's name after the registrar general rejected the initial name. The board loved it and how it characterised our entire operation.
GQ: Can you talk briefly about your art consultancy and empowerment work through the organisation?
EA: Through the varied roles I performed within the visual communication and marketing industry in West Africa, my core duty was to shape consumer perception of brands and inspire possibilities.
The successes chalked gave me the confidence to embark on a capacity-building project called the Artitude, which empowered students, heads of academic institutions, teachers and guardians of various Senior High Schools through a consultancy model (internships, mentorships and workshops).
The project aims to expose the participants to the possibilities in the creative art space while demystifying the creative misconception discouraging the pursuit of art. Through this initiative, the organisation has engaged with over five thousand (5,000) students at some twelve (12) schools in Accra, Takoradi and Akosombo.
To achieve the maximum impact, the Artitude team engaged guardians one-on-one and in groups of at most three during Parent Teacher Association meetings. This approach allowed participants to engage the Artitude team freely and fully.
Concerning art consultancy, there has been an exponential growth in the number of professional artists who request collaborations, talent management, artist representation, contract reviewing, branding and implementing strategies to sustain and grow their career in the global space.
We aim to build and empower a robust network of local and international creatives and contribute to developing and implementing reforms and systems enabling Africa to benefit significantly from the global trade of creative goods and services.
GQ: You come across as genuinely interested in uplifting creatives. Is there a story behind that?
EA: At age 11, art gave me a voice and an outlet, so I embraced the calling by pursuing it. However, this decision was met with several humiliating experiences (creative misconceptions) in one way or another by my peers and family when I chose to pursue art as a student and later as a creative professional.
Through exposure, experiences and research, I have understood the transformational benefits Africa could reap if significant attention is given to the arts and culture industry. As a creative entrepreneur and a believer in the arts, this is one of the critical insights that drives me to keep uplifting the creative ecosystem.
The goal is bigger than Artlife Matters, and we need many more creative thinkers to contribute collectively to a robust African creative economy.
GQ: Can you talk about the Amoako Boafo and Kanye West projects you worked on?
EA: The vision of Artlife Matters is to celebrate and promote art as a tool for social, cultural and economic transformation; hence, we see every collaboration as an opportunity to inspire and strengthen the creative industry.
Our keen interest and willingness to give every opportunity a try paved the way for Artlife Matters to secure a broadcasting right from Uplift Aerospace to multistream, the flight of Amoako Boafo's artworks to outer space on the New Shepard rocket ship by Blue Origin.
For me, the highlight of the historic moment had to do with the enlightenment, renewed hope and opportunity given to the hundreds of young creatives to interact with the first African to transport his artworks to outer space.
We had three controlled viewing centres in 3 senior high schools, and we shared the link with more than 20 Senior High Schools and some creative groups in Accra, Ghana. We were thrilled to get the opportunity to ask a question directly and be mentioned by the panel in the global broadcast team.
Donda by Kanye West was possible through a member of our advisory board, Michael Bediako of "Adinkra ino-V8". Kanye West (Ye) is a personal favourite, "an artist artist", who shared 24 hours of his life living in a minimalist room in the belly of Mercedes Benz Stadium while finishing the Donda album.
Fortunately, Ghana was one of five African countries that Kanye's team approved to host the Donda Super Room Public Live Streaming Event. My excitement was beyond my role as a project manager. It was more of the recognition and influence of such a global event on the creative community in Accra.
GQ: Can you briefly talk about how your deal with Samsung happened?
EA: The Artlife Matters team has been resilient in finding ways to implement support systems for local artists. In partnering with the Samsung Art Store, we are able to manage a platform that allows artists the opportunity to experience art from a worldwide lens.
The exposure and sharable revenue model of the Art Store platform has solved significant career challenges, and our artists now have the peace of mind to keep doing what they love without concerns about being fairly compensated and their rights fully protected.
Through the Art Store, Frame TV customers worldwide enjoy African paintings from our local artists in the comfort of their homes. This platform is a clear example of the democratisation of the art space, and we are happy to be part of this novel way of consuming art.
Currently, our 67 artworks from 15 African artists are recording an average of a million hours of views monthly. The Artlife team will keep looking for and empowering artists who have the creative ability but, through no fault of theirs, lack the exposure that would help project their craft.
GQ: How does your experience in marketing and communications shape the work that you do?
EA: My work experience in top advertising and marketing agencies in Ghana and five other countries in West Africa has given me immense knowledge on how to birth, grow and sustain local and global brands.
It is common knowledge that artists and art institutions recognise themselves as brands. Being intentional about the steps brands take to form the desirable perception in the minds of their target audience, leading to career or business goals, is the kind of competence I bring to the business of art.
I am here to listen to, plan, implement, and measure sustainable strategies and also protect the interest of artists within the creative ecosystem.
GQ: You seem to have a lot of drive. What are some of the challenges you’ve braved through to fund your nonprofit organisation? What is the long-term goal of the organisation?
EA: The successes we’ve chalked over the past four years have been immense, and so has the financial impact on our NGO. We could have achieved much more over the years, but due to financial constraints, we’re often forced to scale down our execution plans drastically and sometimes postpone or shelf some projects.
Volunteers, donors and partners have been our biggest backbone over the years, offering to lend a helping hand because they believe in our vision. With that withstanding, we have gained their trust by demonstrating transparency, creativity, professionalism, and resilience across all our operations.
We are striving to create avenues that would help to sustain our operations in the near future financially, but at this very phase of our growth, we require adequate funding to sustain our operations to fully bring our vision of creating an ecosystem that helps creatives excel within a thriving economic and sociocultural community.
Written by Kris Sowah