The Collection

Rita Mawuena Benissan is a Ghanaian-American interdisciplinary artist born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to Ghanaian parents. She moved to the United States as an infant and was raised there, earning a BFA in Apparel and Textile Design from Michigan State University in 2017 and an MFA in Photography, along with an African Studies Program Certificate, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2021.

Benissan's practice centers on the royal umbrella of Ghanaian chieftaincy, which she reimagines from a ceremonial object of protection into a potent symbol of Ghanaian identity, presence, and lineage. Working across textile, embroidery, and photography, she collaborates with traditional artisans to bring archival photographs to life, memorializing both individual figures and communal scenes from Ghana's royal history. In 2020, she founded Si Hene, a foundation dedicated to preserving Ghana's chieftaincy and traditional culture; through the foundation, she played a key role in the 2022 reopening of the National Museum of Ghana and served as Chief Curator at the Institute Museum of Ghana's Noldor Artist Residency.

Benissan's solo exhibitions include In the World Not of the World, curated by Ekow Eshun at Gallery 1957, Accra (2023); One Must Be Seated at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town (2024–2025); and The Ones Before Her Were Covered in Gold at Gallery 1957, London (2025). She has exhibited in the Dak'Art Biennale, Dakar (2022); the Venice Biennale group exhibition Unapologetic WomXn: The Dream is the Truth, curated by Destinee Ross-Sutton (2024); and Sharjah Biennale 16 (2025), and has presented work at Art Basel Hong Kong, Frieze Seoul, and 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in both London and Marrakesh. In 2025, she became the first female and youngest artist commissioned for the Atrium of Zeitz MOCAA, where her eighteen-meter embroidered tapestry installation, The Procession, remains on view through October 2026. Her work is held in the collections of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Fondation H, the Dean Collection, and the OmenaArt Foundation, among others.