Tatale Provisions

Hannah Traore Gallery is pleased to present the first-ever installation of Akwasi Brenya-Mensa’s Tatale Provisions in the United States. A category-defying polymath, the Ghanaian-British artist is known for his use of food as a creative medium, embracing the coalescence of food, art, and heritage as an avenue for holistic connection. Part retail experience, part installation, and part living archive, the installation invites visitors into a warm, nostalgic environment that fosters nourishment, encourages reflection, and centers community. Rooted in the legacy of West African provision stores as essential neighborhood hubs where commerce and connection intertwine, Tatale Provisions reimagines the household store as a space for cultural exchange. Inspired by a 1995 photograph of the artist and his mother at Ebenezer Supermarket—a local Kumasi provisions store in Ghana—the exhibition brings awareness to the past, present, and future of communal gathering and consumerism. In contrast to the convenience and automation of today’s supermarkets and delivery services, Tatale Provisions is thoughtfully curated with a selection of produce, products, and projects by Black artisans, encouraging intentionality and reflection in processes of consumption. In doing so, Brenya-Mensa stimulates viewers to question how culture is commodified and how traditional practices persist in daily life. To some, Tatale Provisions provides a fluid space for exploration, immersion, and politicking. For others, it’s a place of respite, a slow morning of browsing, or a moment of reflection. However it reveals itself, Tatale Provisions is a home for cultural storytelling and a safe space for curious thought and nostalgic nourishment. The installation borrows its name from Brenya-Mensa’s Tatale, a London-based contemporary dining concept celebrating African flavours and cooking traditions and named after the plantain pancakes the artist enjoyed while visiting his parents’ home in Kumasi, Ghana. A self-described “third culture kid,” Brenya-Mensa is concerned with the space in between, pondering what it means to be born and raised in one place but consider oneself from another place. Following a four-day pop-up at 1-54 London in October 2024, this marks the first iteration of Tatale Provisions in the US, prompting a further interrogation into diasporic experiences across cultural borders and identities. The installation in New York’s Lower East Side—born out of a British-Ghanaian milieu—sits alongside the many bodegas and delis that dot the corners of the neighborhood, creating a cross-cultural conversation that reminds us that such habitual and personal spaces exist everywhere in their own guise. Throughout the run of the exhibition, Brenya-Mensa will invite members from the community to collaborate on programming initiatives to foster further connection, ranging from tastings to literary readings and hands-on workshops. Akwasi Brenya-Mensa, a Ghanaian-British interdisciplinary artist, designs concepts and spaces using food as a creative medium. Approaching his projects through a lens moulded by his kaleidoscopic journey through the world of music, collaborative performance, DJ, and moving image, Brenya-Mensa has shared his ideas from inception to real life at iconic locations such as the Institute of Contemporary Art, Kew Gardens, and Somerset House. Embodying more than a decade of immersive exploration within food, Brenya-Mensa’s latest opus takes the form of debut London restaurant, Tatale, opened at historic venue The Africa Centre in summer 2022. Tatale as a dining concept offers a contemporary menu that celebrates and preserves the rich tapestry of African flavours and cooking traditions. At a time when African cuisine is beginning to be recognised in the way it deserves—as expansive and exciting—Tatale opened to widespread critical acclaim and has won several awards.

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150 Orchard St

Downtown, NY