Adora Mba, Cultivating African Art on A Global Scale

Third Culture Africans

Who is ADORA MBA?

Adora Mba is the founder and director of The Afropolitan Collector, an art advisory platform specializing in contemporary African art. They work with art organizations and clients to find exceptional pieces and promote the growing African art market.

Cultivating African Art on A Global Scale

Adora Mba has a deep love for art. As a child of two cultures, educated in the UK and United States, her travels exposed her to art around the world. In today’s episode, Adora reflects on how her home life inspired her love for art, even if her parents didn’t see it as a career. She talks about working in public relations and journalism and being at forefront of bringing art to the mainstream media.

Along Adora’s journey to founding the Afropolitan Collector, she moved to Ghana. She touches about the country’s rich culture and the role of art in African culture. Adora speaks to new artists and the need to have a story behind the product. She also talks about opportunities that arose from putting herself out there and being willing to take risks.

Highlights of the episode:

• Adora Mba started in public relations, which was a great thing for networking and meeting artists starting their careers (5:55)
• Her ARISE Journalism days; she wanted to be behind the scenes learning. The benefits of being a producer. (11:03)
• Pioneering conversations about art in mainstream media (13:57)
• The importance of taking action on your dreams (22:39)
• Art is a snapshot of a time in our culture; we lack institutions that hold a record of our history (26:44)
• Working with Gucci, how it came about and what happened (33:23)
• Adora Mba’s future plans and projects in Accra (46:49)

Mentioned Resources

• Afropolitian Collector
• ARTX
• One 54
• Malée