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 about 

Ife Nii-Owoo is a visual artist, graphic designer, and public artist. She studied African Visual Arts at the Institute of African Studies in Accra, Ghana, and lived in London, England, and Africa for nine years. She holds a BFA from Syracuse University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Design from the London School of Communications (England). In 1978 she was a Candidate for a Masters of African Visual Arts at the Institute of African Studies in Accra, Ghana. Born and raised in Philadelphia, to which she returned in 1981, her work has been included in shows at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Woodmere Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, African American Museum of Art and Culture, New Orleans, LA, Art + Peace Museum in Philadelphia, Moore College of Art Gallery and Community Folk Art Center, Syracuse, New York. Most recently, she created the set designs and digital installations for the Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum Ensemble production of Ogun & the People.

Ife has received numerous awards, and grants including the Leeway Foundation Art and Change Award (2008), PRAME (Public Relations, Advertising, and Marketing Excellence) Award for advertising/print ad design (2000); Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau/ Multicultural Affairs Congress (MAC) Share The Heritage Award (2001).

Ife is a children's book author who wrote and Illustrated a children’s picture book entitled "A is for Africa" Looking at everyday Africa through the Alphabet.

 

I create collages, with hand-painted papers, familial, iconic/historic images, found objects, typography, and symbols. This work allows
me to explore how color, image, patterns, and textures evoke memory. 

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