Deadly Prey Gallery is a Chicago-based traveling art gallery working with 10 artists in and around Accra, Ghana.About this Event
Deadly Prey Gallery is a Chicago-based traveling art gallery working with 10 artists in and around Accra, Ghana, West Africa. We are dedicated to the preservation of hand-painted Ghanaian movie posters and supporting the artists who make them. Deadly Prey houses a unique collection that spans their 30+ year tradition and will be exhibiting a selection of their painted movie posters from the 10 artists we work with personally, and more.
These wild movie posters were once the product of a much larger industry known as the “Ghanaian Mobile Cinema” which started in the late 1980’s when Ghanaian entrepreneurs formed video clubs that traveled throughout the country. With a television, VCR, VHS tapes and a portable generator, they set up make-shift screening areas and would show movies that span from Hollywood action and horror, low budget American straight to video features, Bollywood films, Hong Kong martial arts movies to an ever-growing selection of native Ghanaian and Nigerian features.
With no affordable access to printing, the hand-painted movie poster was the most logical advertising vehicle for these mobile cinemas. Skilled local artists were now part of this growing entertainment industry in Ghana, and they brought their own distinct touch to each film they were called upon to promote. It was very common for the video operator to explain to the artists what to paint or give them reference material which might not exactly be in the movie. Often times extra violence, horror or sex was added to these painted posters in an effort to sell more tickets!
By the mid to late 2000’s the mobile cinema had all but passed away, but these hand-painted movie posters remain a wonderful, tangible product of the time. Many of the same artists from Ghana’s former mobile cinema continue to paint movie posters as art with Deadly Prey Gallery on a commission basis to a growing worldwide audience today, with 100% of the merch profits going to them and the central focus being supporting these incredible artists painting these posters.
Deadly Prey founder Brian Chankin began his obsession with movies at age 8 when his parents rented him Armed and Dangerous on VHS. Seventeen years later he’d open Odd Obsession Movies in Chicago, a video rental store specializing in everything weird, obscure and class ic. During this time he started collecting hand-painted Ghanaian movie posters to decorate the walls of the video store, which led him to meet Robert Kofi Ghartey in Accra, Ghana. Robert worked with many of the outstanding movie poster artists in Ghana as a teenager in the 90’s. Over the course of a couple years the two men became best friends, and in 2012 Deadly Prey Gallery was born with Robert and Brian as partners. The 10 artists who comprise Deadly Prey are Heavy J, Stoger, Salvation, Farkira, Mr. Nana Agyq, C.A. Wisely, Magasco, Nii Bi Ashitey, Bright Obeng and H.K. Mathias. The late great artists Leonardo and Mark Anthony were also part of the team until their last days. We honor them by helping to continue the traditions they started.
Event Venue
1015 W Kirkland Ave, 1015 West Kirkland Avenue, Nashville, United States
USD 0.00
