Emmanuel Manu Opoku

Master of Fine Arts, Sculpture – University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2021
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting – Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, 2015

Adjunct Professor of Studio Arts – Painting & Drawing, Assumption University, Worcester, MA (Jan 2023–Present): Teach studio-based foundation courses in 2D art, emphasizing creative problem-solving and materials exploration.
Adjunct Professor of Studio Arts – Sculpture, Clark University, Worcester, MA (Aug 2023–Dec 2023): Taught 3D media using found objects contextualized through social, philosophical, and historical discourse; guided students in using accessible materials to create critical, concept-driven artworks.
Adjunct Professor of Studio Arts – Interdisciplinary Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (Sept 2021–Jun 2022): Space Studio (foundation sculpture course on spatial investigations, 3D design strategies, and digital fabrication); Making and Meaning (interdisciplinary course exploring conceptual strategies across performance, 2D, and 3D media).
Instructor of Record – Sculpture, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (Aug 2019–Jun 2021): Shaping Space and Form (contemporary sculpture practices); Gravity and Buoyancy (inflation, suspension, and installation-based sculptural strategies).
Curator, 4Most Gallery, Gainesville, FL (Oct 2021–Apr 2022): Organized exhibitions, coordinated open calls, and supervised interns.

2023 – Juror’s Prize, ArtsWorcester Gallery, Worcester, MA
2020 – Harold Garde Studio Art Scholarship, University of Florida
2019 – College of the Arts Outstanding International Student Award, University of Florida
2019 – FACC Juried Exhibition / Dean’s Award, College of the Arts, UF
2019 – James J. Rizzi Scholarship, School of Art + Art History, UF

2024 – Presenter, 19th ACASA Triennial Roundtable: “A Ghanaian–United States Nexus in Art Pedagogy and Practice”, DePaul University, Chicago
2024 – Artist talk: ArtsWorcester (MA), Strata Gallery (NM), Nubuke Foundation (Ghana)
2021 – Served on the selection jury for public sculptures at Clark University Park
2015 – 89 Plus, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, Ghana (Juried by Hans Ulrich Obrist)

2024 – We Ourselves Are Shared, ArtsWorcester Gallery, Worcester, MA
2023 – Not One or Two, Grizzly Grizzly Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2022 – Here and There, Strata Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2020 – Dialectics of Memory, Larimer Art Center, Palatka, FL
2019 – Inseparable Entities, Fried Fruit Gallery, Wilmington, NC
2019 – Language of Space, Freshasfruit Gallery, DeLand, FL
2019 – A Table of Content, Grinter Gallery of International Art, University of Florida
2019 – Risen Compass, 4Most Gallery, Gainesville, FL

2025 – Color, Worcester Center for Craft, Worcester, MA
2024 – Catch the Fire, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
2023 – Faculty Group Exhibition, Assumption University, Worcester, MA
2023 – Eleventh Annual Exhibition, ArtsWorcester, MA
2023 – 87th Regional Exhibition, Fitchburg Art Museum, MA
2023 – ArtsWorcester 20th Biennial, Worcester, MA
2023 – Impact, ArtsWorcester in collaboration with Fitchburg Art Museum
2021 – Generously Entangled, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Greenville, SC
2021 – The Medium Is the Message: The African Diaspora Story, Taylor Gallery, University of Delaware
2020 – A Prologue, Strata Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2019 – Awaking Frequency, 4Most Gallery, Gainesville, FL

2025 – Our Peaceable Kingdom with Lee Mingwei
2022 – Exquisite Moving Corpse (traveling video exhibition): Microscope Gallery, New York; Experiments in Cinema, Albuquerque, NM; Emily Harvey Foundation, Venice, Italy. Featuring artists including Sergio Vega, Ken Friedman, Mary Mattingly, Tea Mäkipää, Mel Chin, Hasan Elahi, Oliver Herring, Cyriaco Lopes, Emiko Omori, Mark Dion, Tony Oursler, among others.

“IN THE PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING: Opoku Brings Ghana’s Colorful Culture to Worcester.” Artscope Magazine, 1 Jan. 2024, Accessed 25 Nov. 2025
Opoku, Emmanuel. “Emmanuel Opoku.” ArtsWorcester Artist Portfolio, 11 Apr. 2025
“Meet Emmanuel Opoku.” CanvasRebel Magazine, 1 July 2024, Accessed 25 Nov. 2025
PressReader. “Person in the Mirror (2021).” (2022)
Diallo, Aïcha. Contemporary And: “Department of Now.” (2017)
Kooness Magazine. “Six Questions to Emmanuel Manu Opoku.” (2022)
Grizzly Grizzly. “202309.” Accessed November 25, 2025.
MIT Press: “Transforming Art from Commodity to Gift…” (2021)
Abatemarco, Michael. Santa Fe New Mexican: “Emmanuel Manu Opoku at Strata Gallery.” (2022)
Murphy, Trisha. Palatka Daily News: “Ghanaian Artist to Display Unique Style…” (2022)
“Emmanuel Opoku.” Fried Fruit Art Space, Accessed 25 Nov. 2025
“Meet Emmanuel Manu Opoku.” BoldJourney, 8 Mar. 2024, Accessed 25 Nov. 2025
“What is Their Secret? Artists from KNUST at American Universities.” African Arts, vol. 58, no. 3, 2025, p. 1, Accessed 25 Nov. 2025
“Emmanuel Manu Opoku.” Strata Gallery Santa Fe, Accessed 25 Nov. 2025
Batty, Matthew Anthony. “GVL / Generously Entangled.” Tiger Strikes Asteroid, 5 Nov. 2025

Curriculum vitae