SoVA Anderson Lecturer

Tijay Mohammed

Headshot of SoVA Anderson Lecturer 26-27 Tijay Mohammed

Anderson Lecture – November 3, 2026

Ghanaian-born artist Tijay Mohammed has showcased his work on both national and international stages, gracing prestigious venues like the National Museum of Ghana; Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York; Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York; Materials for the Arts, Long Island City, New York; Art League, Houston, Texas; Green Drake Art Gallery, Millheim, Pennsylvania; Gallery 1202, Gilroy, California; and Ravel d’ Art in Côte d’Ivoire.

Mohammed’s impact extends beyond exhibition spaces – he has spearheaded workshops and community-oriented projects for esteemed organizations, including the Studio Museum Harlem, Brooklyn Museum, and Pinto Community Centre in Trinidad and Tobago. His contributions have garnered him various accolades, grants, residencies, and public art commissions from renowned institutions such as the NYC Department of Education, NYC School Construction Authority Public Art for Public Schools program, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Global Crit Clinic, and Asiko Artist Residency, Ghana, among others.

Mohammed currently resides in the Bronx, New York, and maintains a studio in Ghana that serves as a sanctuary for visiting artists to interact with residents, promoting multicultural dialogue through story circles and art workshops.

Immersive installation filling a room with brightly colored patchwork textiles draped across the walls and ceiling above tables and stools.
Tijay Mohammed standing on a ladder while assembling a large mixed-media artwork made of colorful patterned fabrics and layered materials.
Colorful tree-like outdoor sculpture formed from branching painted elements arranged in a circular plaza surrounded by grass and trees.
Black-and-white portrait of Tijay Mohammed seated behind a laptop, wearing a patterned cap and layered clothing.

Artist's Statement

As a futurist, I am committed to making a positive impact in any community I am a part of, for the benefit of current and future generations through an interactive approach, commitment to community, self-love, and appreciation, inspired by the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol 'Sankofa,' which means 'learning from the past to ensure a prosperous future.'

I am driven by a passion for exploring issues that impact my community and humanity, and my work focuses on the concept of 'excess' in production and consumption, offering a solution through materials reuse and up-cycling.

Through multimedia collages, site-specific installations, mixed-media paintings, and public sculptures, I reimagine waste as valuable material, revealing the aesthetic and conceptual beauty of discarded items and challenging the notion of their worthlessness.

I create poetic representations of pressing issues like migration, childcare, gender, social, and environmental justice by repurposing everyday objects, such as fabric scraps, metro cards, jewelry, cutlery, paper, and photographs etc. Through this process, I promote recycling as a response to climate change.

My creative process is deeply rooted in history, as I reinterpret objects and stories to evoke nostalgia for place, time, and utopian cultures, while acknowledging the complexities of African and African American experiences.