Dr Paul Bayliss – Senior Specialist: Art & Museum Curator, ABSA and Edward Lawerh Dugbartey—Ghanaian Artist, 2023 Absa L’Atelier Ambassador
Absa is proud to unveil The Things the Street Made Beautiful, a solo exhibition by Edward Lawerh Dugbartey, the 2023 Absa L’Atelier Ambassador, opening on Friday, 14 November 2025, at Mix Design Hub in Accra.
In this deeply human and visually arresting body of work, Dugbartey turns his gaze to the unseen beauty of life on the streets, the raw, unpolished, and unfiltered realities of young people who survive and self-create in the margins of society. His art challenges audiences to look beyond the surface, to see the dignity, creativity, and resilience in lives often dismissed or misunderstood.
“There is a kind of beauty the world does not see,” Dugbartey reflects. “It’s not the polished kind. It’s rough, loud, crooked, and real.”
Through his use of unconventional materials, insecticide solution, oil paint, image transfers, old photographs, and fabric, Dugbartey bridges metaphor and material. The insecticide corrodes and transforms the canvas just as hardship reshapes human lives; the old photographs act as anchors of memory, linking the forgotten past to the vivid present. Out of this interplay of decay and renewal, Dugbartey creates something transcendent: art that insists on the worth and beauty of every life.
The Things the Street Made Beautiful is not a call for pity, but a declaration that these lives are art-worthy, deserving of visibility and artistic recognition. Each piece embodies defiance and tenderness in equal measure, inviting viewers to confront the tension, spirit, and truth that live within these children of the street.
This exhibition forms part of Absa’s Pan-African L’Atelier Ambassador Exhibition Series, spotlighting artists whose work captures the complexity, courage, and creativity of the continent. Now in its 39th year, the Absa L’Atelier remains one of Africa’s most respected visual arts development platforms, championing young artists and offering them a professional platform to exhibit their work regionally and internationally.
Since the Absa L’Atelier opened across the continent in 2019, there have been five winners from Ghana, a powerful testament to the country’s vibrant and growing artistic voice within Africa’s creative landscape.
“At the heart of the Absa L’Atelier is the belief that every artist’s story matters,” says Dr Paul Bayliss, Absa Senior Specialist Art Curator. “Edward Lawerh’s work embodies this truth. His art transforms materials of survival into symbols of beauty and resilience, echoing the spirit of those who rise and redefine themselves daily. We are honoured to support him in sharing this story with the world.”
Mahmoud Brimah, Gallery Manager at Mix Design Hub, adds: “Hosting Edward’s exhibition is an incredible privilege. His work reflects the creative and emotional pulse of our streets, the mix of struggle, pride, and invention that defines our urban landscape. This collaboration with Absa celebrates art as both witness and catalyst for transformation.”
Through this exhibition series, Absa reaffirms its belief in the power of African art, its ability to reveal, challenge, and inspire. Because Absa sees your story. And it matters.
Exhibition Details:
Exhibition Title: The Things the Street Made Beautiful
Artist: Edward Lawerh Dugbartey – 2023 Absa L’Atelier Ambassador
Venue: Mix Design Hub, Accra
Opening Date: Friday, 14 November 2025
Time: 18:00
About Absa L’Atelier
Absa L’Atelier is a pan-African art competition that affords winning artists with the relevant skills, sets the opportunity to develop and thrive in their chosen practice. It is hosted by Absa in partnership with the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA). Every year emerging visual artists from across Africa are given the opportunity to showcase their talents through Absa L’Atelier. The competition offers them a platform to explore personal narratives, themes and contemporary issues, while setting the stage to bring their ideas to life. Previous Absa L’Atelier Ambassadors have unfailingly been able to develop their careers and, ultimately, to present their work on the global stage.
About Absa Group Limited
Absa Group Limited (“Absa Group”) is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups.
Absa Group offers an integrated set of products and services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and insurance.
Absa Group owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia and has insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. Absa also has representative offices in China, Namibia, Nigeria and the United States, as well as securities entities in the United Kingdom and the United States, along with technology support colleagues in the Czech Republic.
For further information about Absa Group Limited, visit www.absa.africa
About Edward Lawerh
Edward Lawerh is a Ghanaian contemporary artist born in Ada in the greater Accra region. He is a Bachelor of Fine Art Painting and Sculpture graduate at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, Ghana. His works take the form of painting in a distorted and tattoo-like form, looking at the negative impact of chemicals on humans generally in various spaces. He is a member of Blaxtarlines, the Department of Painting and Sculpture KNUST.
About The Mix Design Hub
The Mix Design Hub is a versatile 4-floor collaborative space that serves the creative and professional needs of artists, corporate entities, entrepreneurs, and consumers across diverse domains. Our mission centers in and around fostering innovation, collaboration, and exploration within a dynamic ecosystem of ideas and projects. A core initiative, The Mix Gallery, is a contemporary art space dedicated to showcasing the wealth and diversity of contemporary African art with a commitment to highlighting local, emerging, and established Ghanaian artists.