Chantelle Kukua Eghan • Youngest artist at SoundOut exhibition
When Chantelle Kukua Eghan was in St Joseph’s Primary School at Teshie in Accra, she loved to draw and paint, but most of those drawings ended up in the bin after being torn into shreds by her grandmother.
Her grandmother wanted her to do subjects related to Science, Mathematics or Engineering (STEM), realising that the Ghanaian society appreciated that more.
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Chantelle was living with her grandmother at that time and she would put her in front of the television to watch programmes related to STEM and give her such books in a bid to steer her towards that path. That made Chantelle very sad.
Today, Chantelle, 24 years old, is an artist and has sold over 30 artworks. For each piece she sold, she put part of the money in an envelope and presented it to her grandmother who is so happy about her achievements now.
Ms Horatia Mends (left) with her daughter, Chantelle
The prices of her art pieces range from GH¢15,555 to GH¢25,555. Asked why this unique way of pricing, she said “I hate zeros, so I don’t like to see them in my work”.
“I wanted to express myself through arts. I was lucky that my teachers and mother saw this and encouraged me. With time, my grandmother accepted that that was who I was and what I wanted to do,” she told The Mirror in an interview at the third edition of SoundOut, an art exhibition held at The Underbridge in Accra last week.
Miss Eghan was one of the 13 artists who displayed their works at the three-day exhibition organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), in collaboration with AK Media.
The other artists were the CEO of GEPA, Dr Afua Asabea Asare, Larry Otoo, Bright Danso, Armakine Armateifio, Moh Awudu, Sena Tues, Anna Mensah, Tekura Designs, Jonathan Aggrey, Daniel Ametepe, Ama Mensah and Gyekye.
From primary school where her mother, Ms Horatia Mends, encouraged her, Chantelle moved on to study Visual Arts at the St Mary’s Senior High School. When she completed, she gained admission to the University of Ghana, Legon in Accra where she did Fine Arts. Two years after graduation, Chantelle says she has gone fully commercial with her work and is making some money.
one of her pieces
She said “so far, work has been good even though the effects of COVID-19 presented an uphill struggle”.
“But in our society, being an artist is perceived as the bottom of the jobs. Arts alone is often not enough to make you comfortable so I have added two other related businesses, Sip and Paint - events where I organise sessions for people to relax with food and drinks while I teach them some arts to express themselves - and Interior Design”.
Miss Eghan says with the three businesses together, she is doing okay.
Asked how she found ideas for her painting, she explained that “they are inspired by culture, people, situations, history and they are what is called mixed media work, in which I combine real Kente with hair extensions”.
It takes about three months for her to finish one piece now, but it could also take one and a half months depending on the circumstances.
The artist was grateful to her father, Mr Jonathan Eghan, for his assistance, saying “he and my mother fund purchases for my exhibitions. And as for my only sister, Joelle-Marina Eghan, I wonder how life would have been without her”.
Miss Eghan said she was so happy about the opportunities provided by SoundOut exhibitions to enable artists to express themselves, show what they could do, enhance their work and make some sales.
“I am very content now because I have the freedom to do what I like and a voice to tell stories through art,” she added.
The First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo- Addo (left) receiving an artwork from Miss Chantelle Eghan. Ms Caroline Indoom, an aunt of Mrs Akufo-Addo commissioned Chantelle to make this piece
The exhibition was opened by a well-known artist, Larry Otoo.
Dr Asare, in her opening speech, said the exhibition was aimed at establishing a framework for the growth and promotion of industrial exports.
She called on the public to embrace art and support artists by patronising their work.
Writer’s e-mail: [email protected]/ [email protected]
