Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku, winner of the ellipse 2025 Prize © Courtesy ellipse art projects – 2025 ellipse prize

Multidisciplinary artist Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku has been announced as the winner of the fifth edition of the ellipse prize, dedicated this year to Ghana’s emerging contemporary art scene. In line with the 2025 theme, ‘Butterfly Effect’, Tieku’s practice examines the ripple effects of overconsumption and colonial legacies through the use of salvaged textiles.

As the prize winner, he will receive a production grant, tailored professional support, and international exposure through a dedicated communication campaign. His work will also be featured in a solo exhibition during the AKAA – Also Known As Africa fair in Paris, taking place from October 24 to 26, 2025.

Tieku was selected from five finalists by an independent jury of contemporary art professionals, including experts on the Ghanaian art scene: Victoria Mann (Founder and Artistic Director, AKAA), Binta Ata (Founder and Director, The Mix Design Hub, Accra), and Barbara Kokpavo Janvier (Founder and Director, Gallery Soview, Accra).

The 2025 finalists—chosen from 82 applicants—were Reginald Boateng, Sena Burgundy, Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku, Nana Frimpong Oduro, and Dela Anyah. Their works were presented in a group exhibition at The Mix Design Hub in Accra, held from April 11 to 27, 2025.

Born in 1994 in Cape Coast, Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku is a multidisciplinary artist and civil engineer based in Ghana. His practice is deeply personal, drawing on memories of his grandmother’s fabric collection and the textile culture surrounding Ghana’s markets and waste sites.

Working primarily with second-hand clothing found on beaches, landfills, and in Accra’s Kantamanto Market—the largest resale hub for used textiles in Ghana—Tieku reclaims discarded garments as vessels of memory. Using dyeing and assemblage techniques, he reconfigures these materials to evoke questions about identity, overconsumption, and the enduring imprint of colonialism.

His works sit at the crossroads of sustainability and history, highlighting the environmental toll of the global textile industry. In Ghana, the influx of second-hand clothing has overwhelmed landfills and strained ecosystems. By transforming waste into art, Tieku reflects on the intersection of fashion, identity, and ecology—and the unseen costs of global consumption.

Each year, the ellipse prize focuses on a different country and theme to spotlight emerging contemporary artists and encourage intercultural dialogue. The 2025 edition centres on Ghana and adopts the theme’ Butterfly Effect’, inviting artists to reflect on small actions that spark far-reaching consequences.

More than just a competition, the prize aims to support the mobility of emerging artists and create professional opportunities beyond borders. It is a platform for amplifying voices and visions that transcend national and cultural boundaries.

Founded in 2020 by ellipse art projects—a European company specialising in infrastructure across health and digital sectors—ellipse art projects is a cultural endowment fund promoting artistic exchange in regions where the company operates, particularly West Africa and Southeast Asia.

Driven by a belief in art as a catalyst for sustainable development, the initiative supports artists, institutions, and projects working to share, protect, and nurture cultural expression in underfunded regions.

For more information, please visit the ellipse art projects.