Nana Kofi Acquah

Nana Kofi Acquah (/ˈkoʊfiˌækwə/) (born 23 April 1976) is a Ghanaian documentary photographer, journalist, poet, painter, pastor and activist, particularly for championing women’s rights, climate change, environmental protection, healthcare and challenging perceptions on Africa through photography.

Early Life

Nana Kofi Acquah was born in the city of Elmina, 200 meters from the first slave castle built in sub-Saharan Africa, on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region.

Education

Nana Kofi attended Tema Methodist Day Secondary School and Nsaba Secondary School in the Central Region, where he studied painting, English literature, Bible knowledge (or religion), economics and French.

He graduated from the University of Cape Coast in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Career

• Radio and Journalism

Nana Kofi’s experience as a journalist is said to have begun as a radio broadcaster at Atlantic FM, Cape Coast (also known as ATL FM) during his first year as an undergraduate student. He hosted shows and reported stories for the station until his graduation from the University of Cape Coast. Then, he worked at Skyy Power FM, Takoradi where he hosted Christian radio shows.

• Advertising

In 2002, Nana Kofi returned to Accra and transitioned to a career in advertising. He began as a copywriter trainee at Lintas Ghana Limited (now known as MullenLowe Accra), where he rose to the role of Senior Copywriter. He was also introduced to photography at Lintas and became active on Flickr, a photo hosting service and online community.

In 2006, Nana Kofi left Lintas for the role of Creative Director at TBWA\Ghana. The following year, he became a full-time photographer.

• Photography

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Nana Kofi with his Leica Q2 and Leica M10-P cameras on assignment in Damongo, Ghana for Tree Aid.

Due to his years in advertising, commercial photography came naturally to Nana Kofi but he felt documentary photography will give him the opportunity to combine his skills in journalism, advertising and writing to impact the world positively.

In 2007, he fully embraced documentary photography after joining a masterclass led by Algerian-French photographer Bruno Boudjelal at Alliance Française in Accra.

In 2008, Nana Kofi participated in a photography masterclass by NOOR photo agency and sponsored by Nikon in Lagos, Nigeria. There, he learned from international photographers including Kadir van Lohuizen, Pep Bonet and Jon Lowenstein. His first World Press Photo masterclass was in Angola and taught by the late Danish photo editor, Per Folkver. This led to a publication featuring his work and that of other photographers on that assignment. He also participated in the long-term Northern Lights Masterclass (or Noorderlicht) in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Nana is a consultant photographer for UNICEF Ghana and an assignment photographer for Getty Images. He has worked extensively across Africa for organisations such as World Health Organisation (WHO), Barry Callebaut, The New York Times, The Guardian, Oxfam, Nestlé, UNESCO, The Global Fund, Americares, Nike, BBC, The Financial Times, BASF, Novartis Foundation, ActionAid, WaterAid, Facebook, Hershey’s, AfDB and Standard Bank.

The documentary photographer says he loves people’s stories and enjoys “documenting everyday experiences” in Africa, most especially for their potential nostalgic value. His Ghanaian-ness has not been a barrier to his work across Africa as he notes that he has always been mistaken as a local in almost every African country where he has worked. His photography is said to make an intersection with deep-rooted activism - specifically re-narrativising his continent by offering a more nuanced picture of the African experience and championing women’s rights as he “shows a profound sensibility for the portrayal of women, their struggles, and fights against gender violence." The contributor to the Everyday Africa Instagram account also cares deeply about healthcare and has covered projects on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hypertension, sickle cell, Ebola, and Covid-19.

Exhibitions and Portfolio

• Exhibitions

Nana Kofi’s photographs have been exhibited in many countries, including Wales, London, Lisbon, Luanda, and Lagos.

More Than a Number, Wales (2021)

Festival Taralgatte, Morocco (2015)

Photoville, New York (2014)

Daily Graphic (2018)

“Don’t Call Me Beautiful” Ghana (2016)

• Published Work

Everyday Africa: 30 Photographers Re-Picturing a Continent (2017) - Co-author and editor (Published by Kehrer Verlag)

• Other Creative Work

Nana Kofi enjoys painting with acrylics and writing, especially poetry. He also maintains a blog called “A Window to Ghana and Africa”, where he shares his thoughts and observations on life in his homeland and the wider continent.

Honours and Recognition

Nana was the recipient of the inaugural 2016 Tim Hetherington Trust/World Press Photo Foundation Fellowship in 2016. That same year, his photo was one of ten images presented in a book gifted to Pope Francis by Instagram at the Vatican, and he was listed by Shutterstock as one of the 100 photographers to follow on Instagram.

In 2008, Nana became the West African Regional Coordinator for the African Voices Project; a Dutch-funded project that recruited and trained citizen journalists on how to report using a Nokia N73.6 He has also served on the juries of the World Press Photo Competition, BarTur Photo Award and the Uganda Press Photo Award.

Family

Nana Kofi is married to Gloria Acquah (nee Agbenohevi), who he met at the university. They have two sons and a daughter; Papa Ekow, Aba, and Ato. Since 2019, they have served as lead pastors of Accra Community Church, a non-denominational, multicultural, egalitarian community of believers in Jesus Christ in Accra, Ghana.