The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, honoured eight local and international artists at the second Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Art Awards on Wednesday, May 13, at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, as the Asante Kingdom accelerates its global heritage and cultural restitution agenda.
The ceremony, held at the Otumfuo Golden Jubilee Hall, drew more than 600 attendees including diplomats, curators, artists and university vice chancellors. It was organised by the Manhyia Palace Museum in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Justice and Repairs.
Among the Ghanaian honourees were Ibrahim Mahama, founder of the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art in Tamale, installation artist and painter Yaw Owusu, painters Victor Butler and Larry Otoo, and portrait artist Afia Prempeh. International awardees included Seychelles’ first contemporary artist Leon Raddegonde, British Museum African curator Julie Hudson and curator Osei Bonsu.
Beyond the awards, the ceremony signalled fresh momentum in Asante’s campaign to recover looted artefacts. Manhyia Palace Museum Director Ivor Agyeman-Duah disclosed that restitution talks with the Wallace Collection, the British Museum and the Wellcome Collection had entered a new phase.
A landmark exhibition titled “Encountering Gold: Asante and the Wallace Collection,” featuring gold regalia removed during the Anglo-Asante War of 1874, is scheduled to open in London in 2027. Agyeman-Duah confirmed Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will officially open the exhibition, which will run alongside an international conference of more than 200 participants.
The museum director also announced plans for a modern central storage and conservation facility to house returned and existing collections, complete with conservation laboratories and traditional music preservation spaces, supported by Justice and Repairs.
In a separate disclosure, the museum revealed it had acquired more than 100 historical photographs documenting Kumasi life in the 1950s, secured through the support of Agnes Addo-Kufuor, widow of the late Asantehene Prempeh II.
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Abla Dzifa Gomashie, UNESCO Representative in Ghana Edmond Moukala, and European Union Ambassador to Ghana Rune Skinnebach were among the dignitaries present.
The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Art Awards were launched in May 2025 to celebrate traditional and contemporary visual arts across Africa. The inaugural edition honoured ten legendary African artists.
