New Africa Cultural Initiative Hopes to Build an Arts Infrastructure in Africa

For nearly a decade, Manju Journal has been establishing a vital digital archive and storytelling platform celebrating contemporary African art, fashion, photography, and the creatives shaping its future. Founded in Ghana in 2017, it has since grown into a global community. However, for founder Richmond Orlando Mensah, documenting the continent’s thriving creative scene wasn’t the only end goal. It has now officially transitioned into institutional work with the launch of its nonprofit extension, the New Africa Cultural Initiative (NACI). Building on Manju’s longstanding commitment to fostering creativity, preserving cultural heritage, promoting education, and supporting community-led creative practices across the African continent, NACI supports artistic development and exchange in Africa through research, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and strategic programming, all the while enhancing the continent’s cultural ecosystem.

As an organization that originated from a digital platform, NACI is focused on establishing a cultural infrastructure that is both locally rooted and sustainably built that also keeps the artistic capital it fosters in Africa. Mensah is developing a sustainable practice to create long-term impact, building on existing foundations and institutions dedicated to supporting African culture, with the goal of expanding this influence across the continent. Having officially launched on July 7, with an open call (through August 4) for an inaugural textile workshop in Accra led by multidisciplinary artist Zohra Opoku, ARTnews spoke with Mensah about building sustainable art hubs, fostering cross-cultural collaborations with arts institutions across Africa, and keeping African creativity and storytelling anchored at home.

This interview has been edited and condensed for concision and clarity.

ARTnews: Manju Journal has spent nearly a decade operating as more than just a publication, serving as an influential digital platform that documents, amplifies, and interrogates African visual culture. What was the tipping point that made you realize it needed to establish the New Africa Cultural Initiative as a nonprofit institutional arm?

Richmond Orlando Mensah: There are many incredible talents on the continent, which inspired me to start Manju Journal. I began this journey in 2017 while I was in university, attending various programs happening around Accra, such as fashion week, cultural events, talks, and workshops. One thing I realized was that these events often didn’t lead to anything lasting. The whole idea for Manju developed organically with a strong focus on building the infrastructure needed to support these talented individuals.

In Africa, the creative scenes in Lagos, Accra, Abidjan, Rwanda, and other cities are booming. But when you speak to the custodians, the storytellers, and creatives there, there seems to be a bit of a gap. While they do receive press for their work, for me, it’s always been about how to structure things and ensure creatives are supported, giving them what they need to expand on the work they are already doing. One of my long-term goals for Manju has been to establish an institutional infrastructure that can support everything we’ve been doing, because it’s been an amazing collaborative journey.

Through our partnership with organizations such as the Loewe Foundation, the BMW Group Culture, and Gucci Equilibrium, we see the importance of having a platform that originates from our continent. While it is essential to extend our reach, support doesn’t always have to come from global brands and institutions. This is why NACI exists. There are many stakeholders available to help, and we also need the infrastructure to help them understand how we are supporting artists. I’ve been collecting artworks and receiving questions about how I support writers, creatives, painters, filmmakers, musicians, and designers. We don’t need to depend on middlemen from outside to guide us—the creativity is already here. However, we do require institutions and infrastructure to act as a bridge between funders or supporters and emerging creatives.

While there is interest in African art, the infrastructure for long-term artistic development across the continent remains limited, prompting some artists to seek career validation and financial opportunities abroad, often through Western art institutions. How will NACI’s infrastructure ensure that creative and intellectual capital stays in Africa?

One of the things we focus on is cross-cultural collaboration, which we are building through Manju. This time, we’re incorporating this approach into an institutional format. We are introducing a NACI micro-grant initiative with one of our partners to support artists. But it doesn’t end there. We’ve built a strong network across the curatorial, arts, and cultural sectors. Having these networks and finding strategic ways to bring them to support creatives is why we are here.

We are starting very small. The hope is to get someone who also believes in what we are doing. I think they are out there. Sometimes people need to understand what the whole initiative is about. As I always tell people, this is not the end of a chapter for Manju. We are building on what we’ve done over the last decade, and then being strategic with the programs, like our first workshop, which Zohra Opoku will be leading on textiles, material culture, and craft. This is the first time she will lead such a workshop. Emerging artists are looking up to these creatives. Zohra and other artists are available with their time, but sometimes, when these opportunities aren’t there, it’s like there is a block between these artists and the people who look up to them. For us, it’s about being a stakeholder, making sure we bridge the gap between people doing incredible work and also giving opportunities to different creatives, whether students or emerging artists.

The first cohort of your workshop series takes place from August 20–21 in Accra, featuring a research and archival presentation at the Foundation for Contemporary Art—Ghana (FCA Ghana), alongside studio work with Zohra Opoku. What led you to select Opoku and the foundation to lead NACI’s initial physical program?

Zohra Opoku is one of my favorite multidisciplinary artists. I’ve followed her journey for many years, and collaborating with her and the Foundation for Contemporary Art—Ghana in Accra cements Manju’s institutional future, as it’s been an amazing nine-year journey as an independent cultural platform. We started from Ghana, celebrating what we were seeing around us creatively and culturally, and expanding it to Africa and then to the diaspora.

For us, it’s always about showing respect to those who have been doing it. When you come to Ghana, the foundation is one of the major stakeholders supporting the arts, and it’s also a nonprofit. The whole collaboration is very organic and unique, given the work the FCA Ghana has done in the last few years. Many big names in Ghanaian arts started at FCA Ghana, whether through art coaching or curatorial programs. It was important to collaborate with a foundation like the FCA Ghana and with Zohra, who has been one of our long-time partners and collaborators. For the first part of the workshop, focused on textiles, material culture, and archival photography, I thought of Zohra, an artist whose work captures what we are looking into, as a natural fit. She’s also a significant creative in textile and material culture.

Why did you choose to center textile preservation legacies for NACI’s launch?

There have been a lot of discussions surrounding textiles, and I aim to shift the focus away from the fashion world toward artistic aspects. Coming from the background of Manju, we wanted to emphasize craftsmanship, which is deeply rooted in our African culture. Each region has its own unique crafts. The workshop, starting in Accra, is designed to expand to Lagos in October, then to Dakar, Senegal, during the Dakar Biennale in November, and to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in December. These four cities are our targets for the first year of NACI’s inaugural programs.

With the facilitators we plan to include, you will see that they take textile and material culture in Africa seriously in their work. This approach allows us to find the right people who emphasize cultural preservation, while also supporting local talents.

NACI is created to be a pan-African hub, and as you’ve mentioned, you’re planning to expand this workshop series to Lagos, Dakar, and Abidjan. Given the regional differences, could you provide more details about the artists you’re considering for these cohorts?

The Preserving Legacies – Creative Futures workshop marks the beginning of a series of initiatives we plan to launch. For this inaugural edition, our focus is on textiles, material culture, and craftsmanship. In Lagos, we’ve started proposing ideas with facilitators [in each city]. While these conversations are still in progress, they align with our objectives. We are beginning in West Africa, where we are based, with the intention of starting on a small scale. Our hope is to expand to East Africa next year, as we have a strong network in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. Collaboration is essential to NACI’s work, and we look forward to finding more partners whose vision aligns with our mission to advance cultural preservation and storytelling in Africa. Everything we do at NACI ensures that culture and identity remain at the forefront, regardless of the medium—whether it’s film, music, or other forms of expression, and that our work is distinct from contemporary styles, remaining deeply rooted in culture and heritage.

In recent years, we have seen major localized institutional expansions across Africa, including the Gihanga Institute in Kigali and the GAS Foundation in Lagos, among others. Where do you envision NACI fitting within this growing arts and culture ecosystem?

Collaboration is one of the key strategies I have been exploring. When you look into the Accra edition with the inaugural workshops, it’s what we are doing with FCA. In Lagos, we plan to partner with the GAS Foundation and Angels and Muse for the workshop scheduled for October. For Dakar, we are looking into the late Koyo Kouoh’s space, RAW Material. The team has also been very supportive of our work with Manju, and Koyo was one of the first to really believe in what we are doing. The whole idea is to build on what already exists. We are not claiming to be the best, as there are institutions that have already paved the way. It’s very important that we add to these narratives and ensure that we bring all these collaborations home.

One of the key strategies I am considering, hopefully launching in 2027, is the New Africa Cultural Initiative Fund. This fund will support artists, cultural practitioners, curators, and researchers. It’s going to be very open with no restrictions on funding. Recipients won’t be limited by specific requirements for what they can do with it. This is also one of the things that I’m discussing with potential partners, including both individuals and institutions, to see how we, as Africans on the continent, can support these initiatives. While I don’t want to dispute the fact that external support is valuable, I aim to move away from a Westernized funding structure. Funding is important, we get that, but at the end of the day, we realize that it’s driving away from the whole cultural idea of the continent because of where the money is coming from.

I want to make sure that what we have accomplished with Manju translates to NACI. We collaborated with Gucci in 2020, which was the brand’s first collaboration in Africa. It was a three-year partnership, also in collaboration with A Vibe Called Tech. In everything we did, you realize that it’s still an African-centered story. Following that, in 2021, we expanded our collaboration to Burberry, which was also one of their first partnerships on the continent. This initiative took place in Lagos and Accra during Riccardo Tisci’s era. However, our collaboration didn’t stop there. We built on our partnership with Burberry by organizing one of our first exhibitions at Saatchi Gallery as part of “The New Black Vanguard” show, curated by Antwaun Sargent.

Our focus is on fostering long-lasting collaborations rather than simply securing funding and moving on. For us, as Africans working in both the diaspora and on the continent, it is important to expand these collaborations and ensure a sustainable future. If supporters are contributing to our micro-grant initiatives, we hope to establish ongoing support rather than a one-time allocation. This is why I emphasize the importance of infrastructure. We need solid systems in place to guarantee support for artists not just for this year but for the next 10 years and beyond.

Thinking about the hype for African contemporary art in the international art market has experienced in the past decade, does NACI have plans to intend to protect and nurture younger artists from exploitation?

If you look into up-and-coming artists, they need guidance to navigate the creative space. A few weeks ago, I visited an artist’s studio where he was creating amazing work. I asked him, “Do you have a portfolio? Do you have a guide to your prizes?” He said no. I asked, “How do you sell your artworks? Who is supporting and guiding you in all of this?” There was no idea.

As part of our programs, we are also looking into the curatorial and financial aspects of the art market. I’m very excited about this because we have many wonderful partners and curators whom we’ve built relationships with through Manju. I’m thinking, why not create educational programs that bring people from London, Lagos, Abidjan, and more? These are individuals who are part of our community.  We are not starting something entirely new but building on the amazing work we have done so far and thinking about how to structure these programs to support artists effectively. In the art market, guidance, especially for emerging artists, is often lacking.

With the evolving contemporary African art landscape, what do you think a successful NACI will look like 10 years from now?

When we launched on July 7, I received questions about whether we are a physical space. While the dream is to wake up one day with a physical institution dedicated to the efforts we’re putting into NACI, for me, long-term success means spreading across the continent. It’s going to be a challenging task, but we are optimistic about the future. Geographically, Africa is diverse, with regions in the north, south, east, west, and central. This is why the cross-cultural collaboration format is very important to us, so that we can build on the institutions we’ve had the opportunity to connect with. We also have partners in North Africa, including Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria. Our goal is to ensure we connect across the continent. While Africa has 54 nations, it sometimes seems the focus is concentrated in one area.

Of course, we cannot predict the future, but we are looking into traditional programming methods because we operate independently and rely on partners to support our nonprofit initiatives. We remain hopeful about what lies ahead. Engaging in conversations with other organizations outside Ghana helps us communicate that this initiative is dedicated to preserving our heritage, culture, and identity. It’s crucial to find partners who understand what we’re championing.

The time for action is now. While these conversations can be tough, we must always have to make our voices heard. This is not about conflict. It’s about mutual understanding and ensuring we receive what we deserve. Although we can’t do everything, I’m very happy that this nonprofit organizational arm of Manju is here to explore how its cultural space can also elevate the creative landscape in the coming years.