George Kushiator

Faculty Biography

Dr. George Kushiator, is a lecturer in the Department of Communication Design, and at the KNUST, he is a member of the Audit Team of Affiliated University Colleges. He was also Coordinator (Exhibition Committee, Com. Design Dept.), Committee Member (Research and Publication, Faculty of Art), and Editorial Member (CASS News Publication). Others are Committee Member (Faculty of Art Exhibition Committee), Committee Member (Exhibition and Research Fair Committee), Committee Member (Go Global Workshop, RCA, UK and College of Art, KNUST), Cognate Member (College Board of Architecture and Planning, KNUST, and Assistant Coordinator (MPhil. Comm. Design Programme), among others. Nationally, he was Conference Director, Exhibition Director, Workshop Director for Dialogue (Danish-Ghanaian Art Festival, Moderator (Radford University College, Accra), and Coordinator (Design Competition, National Festival of Arts and Culture).His works have contributed to the promotion of knowledge through exhibitions, seminars, conferences and workshops, and peer-reviewed journals, locally and internationally. His creative ability earned him the prestigious, University of Michigan African Presidential Scholar (UMAPS) award as an Artist in Residence at the School of Art and Design, University of Michigan, USA. George was invited by School of Art and Design, University of Michigan as a Visiting Artist. The accolade “Visiting Artist” which could also be referred to as “Artist in Residence” is a privilege, periodically bestowed by reputable or affluent Art academies on artists of international recognition, practicing either in academia or professionally. During his term of tenure, he interacted with both students and faculty in every aspect of creative studio practice. He gave public lectures about his artworks and demonstrated his particular mode of artistic expression—exploring Integrated Techniques of Painting, Photography and Digital Media which resulted into mesmerising artworks.As an Artist in Residence, George had been provided with the facilities and resources where he conducted his artistic research and produced enthralling artworks that culminated in an exhibition which equally attracted the attention of some newspapers in the USA, including the University’s respected December 2011 edition of the Recorder and the African Study Center Newsletter also known as Alliances, winter 2012 edition. His excellent performance at UM in 2012 also gave him the opportunity to be in Michigan State University as Artist in Residence upon the invitation of the School of Art, Art History and Design. In MSU, he met with MFA Graduate Students in Art and provided an individual critique on their respective research and artworks. George also had the opportunity to visit museums, galleries and art fairs in both USA and Canada. One of his works is presently accepted as part of the collection of UM Museum. Through his hard work, George initiated an exchange programme between School of Art and Design, UM and Faculty of Art, KNUST that would benefit both students and lecturers.Furthermore, George went to run solo and group exhibitions in Botswana and Denmark. In Botswana, he facilitated an art workshop, ending up with a unique exhibition, which attracted national news headlines from prominent newspapers such as Daily News, the Guardian, Mmegi and the Sun. Organised by Thapong Visual Art Center, the workshop was aimed at integrating traditional art forms with new media techniques through the use of the computer. This was made possible by the support of French Government. At the end of the workshop, George hosted a unique three-week long exhibition that showcased the integration of multimedia techniques in painting.