Meet Seyram Agbleze

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Seyram Agbleze a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Seyram , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

For me personally, it comes from a mindset I have cultivated over the years. I’ve come to see life simply as an experience. This way I don’t let things weigh me down, I’m always focused on getting back up in the face of adversity and having a positive disposition also helps in this regard.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

As a Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist my work spans arts, writing and film, shedding light on historical narratives particularly focusing on authentic stories of Africa and the diaspora.
My works basically serve as a form of social commentary.
I use my work to advocate for a better world for all. I am probably better known for my textile art collages inspired by traditional African textiles (for instance the Sleeping Giant Africa series) and the book Journey of West African Textile Traditions. However, my body of work extends beyond these. Generally, I explore themes of cultural heritage, identity and social justice. My latest work titled ‘Adeysi’s Long Walk to Freedom’ also goes down this line. It is a story about a young man in post colonial Africa who embarks on a 100km solo protest walk to his nation’s Freedom Square to highlight the hardships face by his generation despite the sacrifices made by earlier freedom fighters.
One excited reader told me the other day it’ll be great on screen, but there are no plans yet for a film adaptation

I have also recently started a foundation (Love for Humanity Initiative) in my home country. It aims at empowering marginalized youth in deprived communities there. I have always advocated for social issues in my arts and this stems from the desire to help address the problem as well- a way of doing my bit. I’ve come to understand people don’t just choose to leave their countries, they just seek opportunities to thrive. I believe one of the ways to address these systemic issues caused by exploitation and inequality is to assist in any capacity in creating more opportunities for people to live dignified lives in their countries. We are all responsible for each other as citizens of the world. A Ghanaian knowledge system called Adinkra reiterates this point by teaching us we are all connected.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The first would be self-discovery. I had to really unlearn and relearn a lot in this sense. I realised a lot of the things our societies feed us are meant to keep us tethered to a wrong system. I had to go back to my roots to gain the knowledge and insight vital for my creative process.
The second is consistency. You become better at what you do over time. We normally want to rush things but it doesn’t work that way, you have to trust the process.
Risk-taking is also another important quality. It can be very rewarding to take healthy risks. You don’t have to get stuck in a particular cycle, try new things. It is up to you to make your life beautiful, believe in yourself and take that step. It all begins with one step.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I want to begin by acknowledging all the institutional support my work has had over the years. I cannot name all but just a few which includes the Temenos Academy, London (Patron King Charles III), Love for Immigrants, Undocublack Network, Nubuke Foundation, Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education), University of Ghana amongst others.
I’m also grateful for family, friends and community support.
I invite other well meaning institutions/individuals/groups who have collaborative interest to reach out and join me on my quest, be it collaborations in the art projects or humanitarian projects.
Finally, I invite travellers to the beautiful country of Ghana this summer for a memorable vacation.

Enjoy the journey of life and always remember it’s up to you to make your life beautiful, take that step. Everything begins with one step.

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