“Put your pain on the canvas”: Emmanuel Asante on learning and teaching art

Stories
Jan 30, 2025
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Emerging artist, community leader and teacher Emmanuel Asante was awarded the Early Career Kirk Robson Award for Community Arts and Cultural Development at the 2024 Creative Australia Awards.

It’s been a hard road to success in painting and portraiture for the Western Sydney artist – during the Covid years, the Guardian profiled the young Ghanaian-Australian’s emotional struggles to pay for school and everyday life in its Dreams Interrupted series.

In the diary series, Asante chronicles the emotional and mental strain of losing work, having exhibitions cancelled and not being able to afford art school fees during the pandemic.

Fortunately, five years on from 2020 and things are looking up for Asante. The Creative Australia Community Arts and Cultural Development Award recognised his contribution to running art classes and workshop programs for refugees, migrant, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and at risk youth.

We spoke with him about how he got his start making art, how he developed mentorship relationships with Abdul Abdullah and Safdar Ahmed, the everyday financial struggles of being an artist, and why he likes to paint famous figures.

Emmanuel Asante at the Creative Australia Awards 2024

What does it mean to you, to win the Kirk Robson award for Community Arts and Cultural Development (Early Career)?

“It means a lot to me. It’s been a very, very long time [since] I’ve received a prestigious award like that, and to be recognised nationwide. I think that this is a big step that will help people of CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) backgrounds to believe that it’s possible for them, too, to also achieve such a big goal.”

Have you had any feedback from people that you work with, in your community, that you’re inspiring to them or giving them motivation to do things?

“Yes, especially the first week. Sometimes I teach at Liverpool Boys and Girls, a programme called Painting for Peace, and a previous student of mine came into my class and was like, ‘Emmanuel, congratulations. We were all so happy.” The class was like, “Come on, you won an award?” And the [student was] like, “Yeah, well, everyone knows.’

“It was very inspiring, and other organisations and people I work with in my community were also proud. I remember, that day, people were sharing the news around and saying that they’re proud, especially in Western Sydney, they’re also all proud.”

Can you tell us a little bit about some of the community art and development work that you do with organisations like We Are Studios?

“I run workshops with We Are Studios and also offer development training for artists with disabilities. That’s what we basically do there and I think it’s very important – to give access and opportunities for people who really need it, so I’m proud of the work we do. Also, other organisations that I work with, like Refugee Arts Projects, it’s a similar approach, but with a migrant refugee lens. I also get booked privately, because I’m a freelance artist and I also do workshops, mentoring, and also public speaking.”

How did you get involved with the Guardian’s Dreams Interrupted diary series?

“Oh! It’s been a long time – during the Covid era. I’m part of an organisation called SSI, Settlement Service International, and they also specialise in migrants and refugees. During that time, they wanted stories from people from the refugee and migrant background who were going through hardship during the COVID era. Not many of them liked to disclose stories such as that, especially when they have status issues, because they were scared government-wise.

“Anyway, long story short, I was one of the brave ones who were like, ‘I don’t mind, I would like to share my story, because it might impact or it might inspire people to strive to go hard.’ That was the main reason how I got myself involved in the Guardian series.”

Emmanuel Asante and Ms Susan Templeman, Special Envoy for the Arts, at the Creative Australia Awards 2024

You work across a lot of mediums, like drawing in pen, paints, murals, also working with coffee. What attracted you to working with coffee?

“With the coffee one, this is how it all started. I’ll just give you the whole brief, so that you know how everything started. In high school, when I was looking for a career for after high school, I wanted to be a teacher. I went to my visual art teacher and said, ‘I’ve heard so many stereotypes about working in the arts. That there’s no money, it’s hard to gain income, and stuff like that’. She was like, ‘You shouldn’t say that, you should just go into it.

“At that time, it was a very, very dark time – she saw the marks on my hand and she was like, ‘Emmanuel, you shouldn’t put your pain on your hand, on your body. You should put it on a canvas,’ and that changed my whole notion. It was like an off switch.”

“This woman, my art teacher, invited a famous artist, who [was a five-time finalist in] the Archibald, I think, Abdul Abdullah. She brought him into our school for a workshop, a career expo. Right after that, we became mentor and mentee. He invited me to his studio. But he also travels around the world a lot, so he was like, “I have a friend that I’ll introduce you to, so that in case I’m not around, you can go for mentorship for him.” This friend is called Safdar Ahmed. He’s a very popular comic artist in Australia, won an award last year [the 2022 NSW Premier’s Literary Award – Book of the Year, for his graphic novel Still Alive].

“Ahmed has this organisation called Refugee Art Project, and…many years ago, he would go to Villawood [detention centre] to visit the people there. He had a box of art supplies that he wasn’t allowed to bring in. The people he visited with were like, “Okay, if they weren’t allowed to bring the art materials in, why don’t we use the coffee we drink as a form of paint therapy?”

“That’s where it started. When they got released from the detention centre in Villawood, they were like, “Why don’t we come together?” and they created the Refugee Art Project. Every Saturday at Ashfield, we all go to meet together, talk about life, if you need any career advice and stuff. I was really intrigued about the coffee, how they used it to paint. I was like, “Can you teach me?” They sat me down for the whole evening, teaching me the techniques, and I mastered it, perfected it, and that’s how the coffee became a thing.”

 

In the mentoring work that Abdul and Safdar have done with you, what has been the most important thing that you’ve learned from working with those established artists?

“It’s the best, I’ve learned a lot. Abdul taught me how to paint, and he also taught me what to say and not what to say, especially when I’m having interviews, because journalism is a different story. He gave me that media training and Safdar also taught me techniques. For example, drawing anatomy and facial expressions.

“He also has a friend called Anton, both of them come hand in hand and give me tutorials anytime I go to the Refugee Art Project. Sometimes, too, Safdar helps me with CV and writing statements for me. I’m not really good with English, so he’s the one that helps me with the terminologies in the arts arena.”

You do a lot of portraits and I noticed, often, they’re actors or musicians or pop culture figures. Who, in particular from those fields, inspires you in the work you do?

“The funny story is that I love faces. Faces have been my favourite thing that I love in the human body, and I usually draw my friends. Then it became a problem, because when you draw a friend, they would like for you to draw their best friends, and some even go to bring in their extended family for free and they all want it for free.

“I can’t do this for free and I don’t want to be in trouble, so why don’t I draw pop culture, like a pop star or a celebrity?”

“I was like, ‘You know what? I can’t do this for free and I don’t want to be in trouble, so why don’t I draw pop culture, like a pop star or a celebrity? I can get away with so many things.’ I started painting celebrities, and all the free work [went down] to the minimum. Another reason why I draw figures is to inspire people as well, because most of my figures I draw are people who are well established in the industry.

 

What’s next for you in the art world? What projects or workshops are you working on next?

This one here [showing artwork] is part of my work with Western Sydney University and Liverpool Boys and Girls. It’s a mentorship programme called Painting for Peace; it’s a way of helping people to look for the peace in the chaos. It’s about looking through the chaos, to not surround yourself with negativity and get consumed by it. This is a way to spread love and peace around the world during this time of conflict.

Therapy through art?

Exactly, exactly. We’ve found it’s become very profound, we’ve had good results. This is a testimony from one of the teachers, she was saying that one of her students didn’t like coming to school, but after attending our programme, the student has really loved to come – she has never missed school, she’s always there to participate. It was such an emotional response for me and I felt proud that something that you think that you’re just doing…

“They always say it’s just the religious bodies and medical sectors that are saving lives, but teachers have their own way of saving lives as well.”

“I have an exhibition coming up, which is yet to be announced. And I will be running a workshop at the Motherland [African] Festival in Liverpool.”

And lastly, what’s your great goal for 2025?

“My goal is to have financial independence, because in the arts I’m very successful, but getting the cash flow is extremely hard. There’s the system called the 30 Days Rule, whereby you do a work and they have to wait 30 days after you’ve finished [to pay your invoice].

“I’m always been telling organisations and arts institutions that doing that is not fair, because we pay rent weekly. Imagine if I work and have to wait a month, then we just have to borrow money and pay rent anyway. It can be very daunting, going through that same process. My goal for this year is to get a job or get an art job that will keep the cash flowing.

“My ultimate goal in life, or my next step in life, is to become a very professional artist, internationally, whereby my art is being loaned. Also, I would like to travel internationally and then teach whatever I’ve learned [overseas] here to minority cultures. That’s my goal.”

Emmanuel Asante: Instagram