The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has honored 10 exceptional artists with the 2025 Inaugural Artist Laureates award at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.

The esteemed recipients include renowned artists such as Professor Ablade Glover, Professor Ato Delaquis, El Anatsui, Francis Kwatei Nee-Owoo, Frances Ademola, Peggy Appiah, Kwame Akoto, and three others.

This prestigious ceremony, organized in partnership with the Manhyia Palace and UNESCO, celebrates the artists' remarkable lifetime achievements in African art and history, with the goal of inspiring a new wave of traditional and digital art practitioners.

This ceremony marks the launch of a decade-long initiative to recognize industry leaders and inspire a new generation of professionals, including those in digital arts.

During the event, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II emphasized the significant role art has played in shaping Ghanaian societies, particularly among various ethnic groups, from pre-colonial times to the present day.

“Art as we know it played a critical and functional role in the formation of societies and among virtually all the ethnic groups in Ghana from pre-colonial times through the cultural imperialism that followed and our terms of a nation from 1957.

“Our first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, used it to unify this country and supported some of the great artists we came to know and who defined vision for us, the symbol of our new independence,” he stated.

The ceremony also seeks to attract policymakers and art enthusiasts from Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, and a delegation from the Republic of Seychelles.