Asantehene Art Awards Opened with Minute of Silence for Nana Agyeman Prempeh I
The Manhyia Palace paused in remembrance of Nana Agyeman Prempeh I, the 13th Monarch of the Asante Kingdom, as the 2026 Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Art Awards commenced.
The remembrance was significant as the date of the Art Awards coincided with the day he departed to join his ancestors.
The gathering, co-chaired by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, and Lady Julia Osei Tutu, observed a minute of silence in his honour.
Delivering a welcome address on May 13, 2026, Ivor Agyeman-Duah, Director of the Manhyia Palace Museum, said the day marked 85 years since the King’s death was announced.
According to him, the news was communicated by the elders of Kumasi and the British colonial authorities to the Gold Coast colony.
“Today marks exactly eighty-five years since 1931, when the elders of Kumasi and the British colonial authorities unofficially communicated to the Gold Coast colony that the Asantehene, Agyeman Prempeh I, had joined eternity,” he said.
The solemn tribute was led by his great-grandnephew and the heritage-bearer, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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