Tijay Mohammed

Ghanaian-born artist Tijay Mohammed creates artwork to address issues that confront his community and humanity. Focusing on ‘excess’ in both the production and consumption of countless products, Mohammed uses commonly found objects (fabric scraps, metro cards, jewelry, cardboard, paper, photographs, stories, etc.) to create multimedia site-specific installations, collages, and paintings. By reusing and upcycling materials, his portraits communicate a hopefulness and suggest that so-called waste can be valuable. The use of these materials also create poetic representations of real-world issues such as migration, childcare, gender, social and environmental justice and consider the complexities of African, African American, and minority experiences.

Mohammed has presented work and led workshops at US and International museums and has held residencies at various renowned institutions such as The Laundromat Project, Wave Hill, ArtBridge, Materials for the Arts, Harmattan Workshop in Nigeria, Global Crit Clinic, and Asiko Artist Residency in Ghana. Grants from institutions like Arts Fund, the Bronx Council on the Arts’ Artist for Community and New Work grant, and the Spanish Embassy Ghana Painters Award further attest to his artistic prowess. The artist resides in Bronx, NY and maintains a studio in Ghana that serves as a sanctuary for visiting artists to interact with residents, promoting multicultural dialogue through story circles and art workshops.