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Grace Kwami was one of the first art specialists in the Gold Coast-now Ghana-an art teacher for more than thirty years, and a practicing artist all her long life. A compulsive maker, she is best remembered for her terracotta figures and in particular for her sensitive, up-lifting, often sublime portrayal of youthful heads. She was, as John Picton eulogized, "a lovely, kind, and generous lady, at peace after a long, rich, and productive life, [whose] intellectual and artistic legacy will always remain...." (Unless otherwise noted, all quotations are from Grace Kwami's funeral tribute book.)
A thanksgiving service for Grace Kwami was held at Gbadzeme in eastern Ghana on October 28, 2007. Thinking about Da Grace (in Ewé, da is a respectful title for mother/sister) sparks recollections of her son Atta's spider-shaped tribute, Grace Kwami Sculpture.' This paper sculpture takes the form of a book-a spider book-composed of eight fold-out legs, each printed with images of his mother's life story, drawings, and sculptures. While "book" is a metaphor for formal education and Christianity, the work also references Ghana's national heritage in textiles, sculpture, and oral literature. It specifically denotes the tales about "Ananse the spider, who symbolizes ingenuity and skillfulness in Ghanaian folklore" (Kwami 1993). Like a portable mini-exhibition, Grace Kwami Sculpture travels in its own special, wax-print-covered box. The handmade box also reclaims a particular memory of Da Grace associated with her careful, artistic mothering: a memory literally about how she made boxes for Atta and his twin sister Attawa to carry their slates and other supplies on their first day at school. The poignancy of this reconstruction deepens with the fact of Attawa's untimely death at age 13 (Kwami forthcoming).
The ninth child in a Christian Ewé family of twelve children, Grace Anku was born in 1923 at Wora Wora, north of Ho in the Volta Region. Her family valued education; her father was a minister for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, while two of her brothers were teachers. She took up opportunities for informal learning and formal education. For example, at home the children played with clay while working as a cook for missionaries provided useful experience for learning European customs in catering and art and also for language practice in German. Grace started...