Artwork by Musah Swallah

Musah Swallah is a visual artist born and raised in Accra, Ghana. For Musah, art is a tool for self expression, creating awareness, and transforming society. His paintings, sculptures, and mixed media works render stories that reflect African identity, cultural values and daily life. Currently, he paints on repurposed wooden panels, plywood, paper and canvases to create layered mixed media portraits. His current  art speaks to the complex transnational identities of the African Diaspora. In May 2020, Musah completed a residency and exhibited with the BronxArtSpace. He has also exhibited at Calabar Gallery (NYC), the Stimson Center (DC), Vivid Gallery (DC) and Art All Night DC 2018-2020. As a newly arrived immigrant Musah participated in the New York Foundation for the Arts, Immigrant Mentoring Program. His work has been featured internationally on CNN and in the Afro-Caribbean Design Festival London. 

Through mentorship, Musah was able to forge a career as an artist and become an active member of his community, Nima. Musah sought to share these same opportunities with the next generation of artists in Nima. As a founding member and Artistic Director of Nima Muhinmanchi Art, Musah taught drawing and painting to youth from his community and led art initiatives that promoted urban transformation. He has taught the youth in Ghana and parts of the United States including NYC, DC, and Maryland. 

Musah participated in residencies in Italy, Kenya, and Cote d’Ivoire. He has taken part in exhibitions and projects with the Foundation for Contemporary Art – Ghana, Alliance Française d’Accra, Accra[dot]Alt, Nubuke Foundation, Invisible Borders Trans-African Photographers, and W.E.B. Du Bois Centre. He has participated in the Chale Wote Street Art Festival yearly as a muralist since 2011.