A new London exhibition aims to bring female African artists into the mainstream

"Mother of Mankind," a collaboration between HOFA Gallery in London and Adora Mba, founder of the ADA Contemporary Gallery in Accra, aims to bring make the work of female artists of African descent more prominent.

A display of 32 artworks at the House of Fine Art (HOFA) Gallery in London, running through August, aims to showcase the range and power of young, up-and-coming female artists from Africa, or of African descent, in an effort to bring more of their work into the mainstream.

“Mother of Mankind” features 16 artists and is curated by Ghanaian-British gallerist Adora Mba, founder of recently opened ADA Contemporary Art Gallery in Accra. Mba describes the show as an “artistic call to arms” which she was inspired to do after seeing a series of group exhibitions featuring the same male African artists. “There’s an incredible roster of female artists, contemporary artists, doing really cool stuff, and it needs to be seen,” she says.”I really just wanted the world to see that African art is more than portraiture from male painters.”

The show is the fifth in a series from HOFA titled “Curated,” which invites young curators from across the world to highlight the work of their favorite artists. “We have the privilege of having a successful gallery in the heart of Mayfair which gives this groundbreaking exhibition the platform to engage a wider audience, ensuring that each artist and artwork is given the exposure it deserves,” says HOFA co-founder Simonida Pavicevic. “With the present topical conversations that are at the forefront of an important change in how society evolves, we feel it is important to be a part of this movement.”

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