Rita Mawuena Benissan
Rita Mawuena Benissan, The One Who is Shaded by Tradition, 2024, embroidery on velvet, 200 × 200 cm, courtesy of OmenaArt Foundation
Rita Mawuena Benissan is a Ghanaian-American interdisciplinary artist. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Apparel and Textile Design from Michigan State University in 2017, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in Photography with a certificate in African Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2021. Her work has been exhibited in galleries across the United States, Germany, and Senegal, including at the prestigious Dak’Art – Biennale of Contemporary African Art. Rita is currently presenting her first solo museum exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, South Africa.
In her artistic practice, she often collaborates with traditional artisans and explores the symbolism of the Ghanaian royal umbrella, reinterpreting it through a contemporary lens and transforming it into a powerful emblem of Ghanaian identity.