02/16/2026
From my 2022 exhibition in Brussels, Black Rodeo: Cowboys of the 21st Century, the exhibition highlighted the depth, importance, and legacy of African American cowboys—whose presence and contributions have too often been erased from American history.
Growing up in Ghana, I was fascinated by Western cowboy films—what we used to call “TNT.” I was drawn to everything about them: their culture, their way of life, their accents, the way they dressed. The cowboy felt larger than life to me.
But I always wondered—was there anyone who looked like me in that story?
When I eventually moved to America and discovered that African American cowboys truly existed—men who looked like me and carried that legacy—it was deeply inspiring. That discovery changed something in me. It propelled me on a journey to uncover their history, to learn more, and to honor their presence through my work.
That moment became one of the most defining in my career, leading me to create a body of work centered on their stories and to continue exploring the depth of their legacy.
