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Nii Amasah

"I am Nicholas Nii Amasah. I was born in Accra on July 23, 1983, the youngest of four children. I was born into a family full of artisans, both in my paternal and maternal families. My mother is into bead making. During my youth, I was good at painting so I was enrolled in several art institutions to develop this talent and be exposed to other art works.

"After my basic education, I enrolled at Opportunities Industrialization Center to obtain a certificate in graphics and then went to the Ultimate School of Arts in the U.S.A. I also attended the L.A. Vocational Institute where I earned a diploma in designing.

"My greatest challenge has been the perception that artists are poor. My father never encouraged me to go into this profession because he also held on to this perception. This made it difficult to produce, due to financial constraints. When I had the finances to paint, marketing also became another issue to contend with. But I'm determine to work hard to change this perception.

"I have a great passion for painting, nature and people, and use both acrylic and oil paints, brushes and the palette knife for my works. I've exhibited them at the Ghana British Council (2002) and the National Museum (2007).

"Currently, I volunteer with EverImages Career Consult, a non-governmental organization (NGO). There I train youth, single mothers, widows, orphans, the underprivileged and the physically challenged in textile making and painting. This is my contribution to help alleviate poverty and the increasing number of street children. I enjoy playing football, tennis and listening to music. In future, I hope to display works in jewelry and textiles."