Berj Gallery owner passes on

Visionary gallerist and art collector, Abena Joyce Quarshie, the founder of Berj Gallery, who died last week aged 68, will be interred on Tuesday, November 5 at the Lashibi Funeral Home.
Passionate about the preservation of art, Joyce devoted forty years of her life building the Joyce Quarshie Permanent Collection, which features pre-colonial Ghanaian art as well as works from renowned artists with international acclaim.

Educated at Accra Girls’ School before moving to Versailles, France and then to Connecticut, USA to complete her studies, Joyce, returned to Ghana and initially joined her mother in the fish trade before eventually expanding her interests into luxury goods and art.

Growing up in a family of influential figures — her father, Ambassador John Kwame Agbevanu Quashie, served as a Special Advisor to Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, playing a key role in the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and her mother, Sabina Patricks’ connection to some of Ghana’s most prominent political figures, including grand aunt, Hannah Kudjoe and grand uncle, E.K. Dadson  — Joyce was imbued with a deep sense of nationalism and cultural pride, which helped to shape her lifelong dedication to preserving Ghanaian Art.

In 1996, she founded Berj Gallery, which quickly became a cornerstone of Ghana’s art scene. Established through exhibitions at the Ambassador Hotel and collaborations with artists like El Anatsui, Nii Amon Kotei, Ablade Glover, Dr. Oku Ampofo, Owusu Ankomah, Ato Delaquis, Victor Butler, Betty Acquah, among others, Joyce cemented her status as one of Africa’s foremost art collectors.

As a symbol of her commitment to preserving the nation’s cultural legacy, she was gifted her “most prized possession” — a 1968 Ablade Glover piece by Nii Amon Kotei, the creator of Ghana’s Coat of Arms!

During the construction of Jubilee House, the residence and office of the President of Ghana, she was commissioned to curate its art collection. This role underscored her expertise and dedication to showcasing Ghanaian art at the highest levels of governance.

In 2017, Joyce hosted an exhibition with Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, in honour of the Kofi Annan Foundation; and in 2023, she welcomed the President of Ghana as the special guest for another major exhibition, which launched Creation Africa Ghana.

Her life’s mission was to preserve and uplift Africa’s artistic heritage. Her legacy lives on through her collection, the gallery and the Hannah Kudjoe Foundation, all enterprising ventures which her surviving children Emmanuel Okeke, William and Robert Prempeh, who are already involved in growing, aim to keep alive as they honour her memory. A Book of Condolence has been opened at the Berj Gallery, where the family will receive guests and well wishers. May she rest in paradise.

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