Award-winning Ghanaian artist and the United States Sports Academy’s 2010 Sport Artist of the Year, Tafa, recently conducted the first ever live painting to take place during a basketball game at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York City.
In just two hours, Tafa used his palette knife to create an acrylic painting portrayal of the night’s game in front of thousands of fans and millions more watching at home. Â The finished piece was later included in the Knicks Bowl auction benefiting the Garden of Dreams Foundation to “make dreams come true for many children facing obstacles.” Defining this moment as a career highlight, Tafa said the energy from the crowd helped him finish his piece in such a short time.
Though Tafa draws on a wide variety of subjects in his artwork – music, socio-political issues and religion – sports themes hold a special allure. Tafa sees sports as a vehicle for positive worldwide communication of fraternity and a sense of cooperation among peoples of all nations.
In 2010, the Academy honored Tafa with the Sport Artist of the Year Award for his unique contribution to the field. He visited the campus in Daphne, Ala., to receive his award. Numerous galleries, museums, cultural and educational institutions, and private collections exhibit his works, including the Superior Court, Washington, D.C., the National Museum of Ghana, the Swiss Collection, Carver Federal Bank, and the private collection of former New York City Mayor, David Dinkins.
To learn more about Tafa and his artwork, click here.