Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has received in Detroit, Michigan-USA, the 2022 Margaret H. Demant African Art Award.
The award was presented by Friends of African and African American Art (FAAAA) at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and was in recognition of Afreximbank’s pioneering support for Africa’s creative and cultural industries under his leadership.
This support is exemplified by interventions such as the Afreximbank Art Programme and the Creative Africa Nexus Initiative (CANEX).
The Margaret Herz Demant African Art Award recognises individuals who have promoted and supported African art and culture through the creation of art; scholarship exploring its significance and history; as well as its collection, exhibiting and funding.
Created in 2005 as the African Art Recognition Award, it was renamed in 2019 in honour of Margaret Herz Demant, a major patron and benefactor of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) whose personal collection was gifted to the museum.
Dr. Salvador Salort-Pons, President, Director and CEO of Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), in a brief remark said the DIA is honoured to present the Margaret Herz Demant African Art Award to Professor Benedict Oramah in recognition of all that he and his team have accomplished and continue to do in leading the African Export-Import Bank’s ground-breaking arts programmes.
Prof. Benedict Oramah commented that he is greatly honoured to receive the award, and pleased that Afreximbank’s extensive and ambitious programme of activities to cultivate and develop Africa’s creative and cultural industries are being acknowledged in such esteemed quarters.
Prof. Oramah is particularly impressed that the DIA was able to appreciate the link they are creating between Africa’s rich culture and the creative content African youth are taking to the market.
