ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Efie. The Museum as Home: Ghanaian and Afro-Brazilian Art in Dortmund

exhibition · 2026-04-24

Curator Nana Oforiatta Ayim presents 'Efie. The Museum as Home' at Dortmunder U in Dortmund, Germany, featuring contemporary artists from Ghana and Brazil alongside historical Ghanaian artifacts from German museum collections. The exhibition questions traditional museum concepts and proposes the museum as a place of convalescence for objects removed from their original contexts. Ayim, co-founder of the Institute of Arts and Knowledge (ANO) in Accra, incorporates pan-African perspectives and connects Ghana to its diaspora in Brazil. Afro-Brazilian artist Diego Araúja deconstructs narratives of evolution, religion, and capitalism using Afro-Brazilian work songs (vissungo). Other artists include Chainkua Reindorf, Rita Mawuena Benissan, Kwasi Darko, DK Osseo-Asare, Afroscope, El Anatsui, Studio Nyali, and Kuukua Eshun. Film projections show how similar objects are traditionally used and cared for in Ghana. The exhibition runs from February 9, 2022.

Key facts

  • Exhibition 'Efie. The Museum as Home' at Dortmunder U, Dortmund, Germany
  • Curated by Nana Oforiatta Ayim
  • Features contemporary art from Ghana and Brazil alongside historical Ghanaian artifacts
  • Artifacts loaned from German museums including Museum am Rothenbaum, Hamburg and Übersee-Museum Bremen
  • Afro-Brazilian artist Diego Araúja incorporates vissungo (work songs)
  • Nana Oforiatta Ayim is co-founder of Institute of Arts and Knowledge (ANO) in Accra
  • Exhibition explores what a German museum can be today
  • Includes works by Chainkua Reindorf, Rita Mawuena Benissan, Kwasi Darko, DK Osseo-Asare, Afroscope, El Anatsui, Studio Nyali, Kuukua Eshun

Entities

Artists

  • Nana Oforiatta Ayim
  • Diego Araúja
  • Chainkua Reindorf
  • Rita Mawuena Benissan
  • Kwasi Darko
  • DK Osseo-Asare
  • Afroscope
  • El Anatsui
  • Studio Nyali
  • Kuukua Eshun
  • Na Chainkua Reindorf

Institutions

  • Dortmunder U
  • Institute of Arts and Knowledge (ANO)
  • Museum am Rothenbaum
  • Übersee-Museum Bremen
  • Museum am Rothenbaum, Hamburg

Locations

  • Dortmund
  • Germany
  • Accra
  • Ghana
  • Brazil
  • Hamburg
  • Bremen

Sources