Meet the Ghanaian creative behind the beautiful murals celebrating historic women

Digital Artist, Photographer, and Activist are some of the few words that describe Ghanaian artist, Josephine Ngminvielu Kuuire.

However, the list of nouns keeps growing by the day as she explores the boundaries of her artistry.

The C.E.O of Mumble Photography is part of a creative team of artists redecorating the concrete walls of the capital city with giant murals under the Creative Arts Council’s ‘Art For All: Phase II’.

A celebrated digital artist who is famed for her viral digital manipulations and portraits that has sparked conversations about rape, feminism and gender, Josephine was a co-creator and digitally designed the paintings.

“This work is very special – celebrating some of the women who contributed immensely in the history of Ghana. Very happy to have co-created and digitally designed this work with the @AfuabeGh collective for the @cacghana. 60% complete. Tetteh Quarshie Interchange,” she tweeted.

This work is very special - celebrating some of the women who contributed immensely in the history of Ghana.

Very happy to have co-created and digitally designed this work with the @AfuabeGh collective for the @cacghana.

60% complete
???? Tetteh Quarshie Interchange pic.twitter.com/j452DPhNPE

— Josie Ngminvielu (@kuu_ire) October 2, 2020

The iconic women painted on the walls around the Tetteh Qurashie Interchange include some of the first Ghanaian women in every field of endeavour.

This includes the first female doctor Susan Ofori-Atta, Esther Ocloo, Mabel Dove, Theodosia Okoh, First female lawyer Annie Jiagge, Adorkor Coffie, Efua Sutherland, Queen Yaa Asantewaa, Millicent Danquah and Dedei Ashikishan.

The Creative Arts Council led by Gyankroma Akufo-Addo, daughter of Ghana’s president have received lofty praise for the project by the general public as opposed to being littered with posters of politicians and church crusades.

“Art representing the legacies of some of the most influential and remarkable female figures during and after the independence era,” the Council tweeted about the project on their official twitter account.

Other female artists enlisted on the project include Afuabe and the Female Painter along with other creatives in several fields.

How it started How it’s going pic.twitter.com/b7RsFVI9gs

— Mwinnabang (@FemalePainter) October 8, 2020

Kuuire has a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Music from the University of Ghana.

She first explored photography as an artist in Leonia High School, New Jersey; where she took a regular and advanced class in photography.

Upon returning to Ghana in 2009, she decided to continue her photography journey and worked as a freelance photographer while in the university.

Her very nuanced body of work won the Portraits Ghana Photography Prize which was organized by the Embassy of Netherlands in Ghana and Nuku Studios.

She also hosted several exihbitions including her debut, Second Chance which was held at the Accra[dot]Alt space station.

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“Be ok that your skin lost the war For one second your armor was down And you lost Learn to love Trace the outline of your scar with your hands Remind yourself that you will heal They are only created to prove your inner strength” . How To Love Scars - @writedzidzor

A post shared by Ngminvielu Kuuire (@ngminvielu.kuuire) on Nov 2, 2019 at 4:02am PDT