Kumasi, Ghana
Neo-Akan
An exploration of Akan art and history, readapted to modern life.
Hover the name to see it in Kɔradin. Its symbols light up in the table.Tap the name to see it in Kɔradin. Its symbols light up in the table.
- Neo-Akan Prologue The online exhibition, artist by artist, with the Akan influence behind each.
- Index Every brand and artist, with a link to their work.
- Kradin The writing system, its syllable table and the day names.
Yɛn ho nsɛmAbout
Akan heritage, adapted to today
Neo-Akanism is a creative and cultural project that explores Akan art, history and language and readapts them to modern life: how we design, build, write, cook, dress and make music today.
Through art, design, language and community, it looks for ways to modernise, rejuvenate and reinterpret what Akan makers have built, for anyone curious about it, in Ghana and across the diaspora.
Akan history crosses many borders, from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to the Caribbean and the Americas. This project follows it wherever it goes: identity beyond flags and borders.
Read the Merankron
Akan Creative Archetypes
Where Does Your Art Stand?
Five archetypes of Akan creative practice. No judgment of value, only labelling based on features. An Akan creative is one who makes art for the purpose of using the Akan culture as a canvas and medium.
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Old Akanism
Traditional
Practices, forms, and expressions that remain aesthetically and functionally similar to those of two centuries ago. Frozen in time, maintaining traditional forms, materials, and methods.
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Creole-Akanism
Hybrid
A blending of Western or foreign forms with Akan principles, materials, and expertise. The essence remains Akan, even if the form is adapted for new environments or needs.
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Faux Akanism
Surface-Level
Attempts at cultural blending where the value system is foreign and the Akan aspect is only symbol and surface. Mass-produced, superficial or appropriative, and lacking philosophical grounding.
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Postcolonial
Recognisable
Objects and visual habits shaped in the colonial and postcolonial period that fit none of the other types, yet have grown into recognisable labels of their own, such as Ghana Must Go bags and painted barber shop boards.
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Neo-Akanism
Transformative
A transformative approach that rethinks design through Akan philosophy. Foreign techniques are translated into Akan terms, local resources and ways of seeing.
Mmara NkronThe nine principles
The Mmara Nkron, or Merankron, sets out nine principles for living Akan culture in the 21st century, a shared culture that crosses geography and blends diasporic influences with continental heritage.
At its core: a culture stays alive when its art, language and communities keep being made and remade. Modernise, rejuvenate, reinterpret.
- Akan Unity
- Calendar
- Language
- Akan Script
- Dress
- Local Economy
- Modernize
- Community
- Art & Music
Identity beyond flags and borders.