Zeitz MOCAA welcomes a new, site-specific commission by Ghanaian-American artist Rita Mawuena Benissan. The Procession (2025), the large-scale cylindrical tapestry made of sheer fabric and embroidered canvas, invokes a space for convening and celebration. The Atrium commission opened on 25 October 2025 and will be on view intil 25 October 2026.
Benissan’s artistic practice is rooted in the cultural traditions of Ghanaian royalty, where public processions honour chiefs and traditional leaders. These processions are vibrant occasions marked by canopies of dancing royal umbrellas, colourful attire, and the rhythmic pulse of drumming. The Procession embodies the essence of this tradition through its vivid use of colour, its depiction of community, and motifs of seagulls and palm fronds spanning the full height of the Atrium.
Suspended at the centre of the Atrium bowl, the permeable tapestry takes the form of a delicate apparition that softens its rough, concrete surroundings. Its presence ethereal and monumental, an elegant halo responding to the atmosphere of the space—the quiet stir of an incoming breeze, the shifting light, the indistinct chatter of the visitors. The Procession invites reflection on community, and the rich Ghanaian traditions that sustain it. Here at the museum, it becomes a moment for collective gathering—a procession in its own right—as visitors move through and around the work.
Contributors to The Procession:
Idris Tanko (Lead)
Travis Obeng-Casper (Lead)
Carl Gomado (Lead)
Toffic Zakaria
Faisal Husain
Mamud Tahiru
Sadat Anwar
Husain Alhssan
Nasir Saeed
Suleman Bawa
Humphrey Abbey
Noah Teye
Kofi Dako
Zeitz MOCAA’s exhibition and curatorial programming is generously supported by the Mellon Foundation and BMW South Africa. This commission has been made possible through the generous support of Gallery 1957.
meet the artist
rita mawuena benissan
Portrait by Lauren Theunissen, courtesy of Zeitz MOCAA.
Rita Mawuena Benissan, a Ghanaian-American interdisciplinary artist, is on a mission to reimagine the royal umbrella, transforming it from a mere protective object into a potent symbol of Ghanaian identity. With a profound passion for art and cultural history, Benissan collaborates with traditional artisans to breathe life into archival photos, immortalising individual figures and communal scenes while embodying the beauty and power of her people.
Born in Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire in 1995 to Ghanaian parents, Benissan’s journey led her to the United States as a baby, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Apparel and Textile Design from Michigan State University (2017), followed by a Master of Fine Arts in Photography, and an African Studies Program Certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2021).
In 2020, Benissan established Si Hene, a foundation dedicated to preserving Ghana’s chieftaincy and traditional culture, leaving a significant mark on Ghana’s artistic and historical narratives. Through her foundation, she played a pivotal role in the reopening of the National Museum of Ghana in 2022 and served as the Chief Curator at the Institute Museum of Ghana (Noldor Artist Residency) until 2022. She also acted as Artistic Director for the Open Society Foundation’s Restitution Conference in Accra, demonstrating her commitment to cultural preservation and representation.
Benissan’s artistic prowess has garnered global recognition, with exhibitions at prestigious venues such as Arts + Literature Laboratory, Wisconsin (2021); the Foundation for Contemporary Art at Afrochella Festival, Accra (2021), Dak’Art – Biennale de l’Art Africain Contemporain at IFAN African Art Museum, Dakar (2022), EFIE: Museum as Home, Dortmund (2023), and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York (2023). Her solo exhibition, In the World Not of the World, curated by Ekow Eshun at Gallery 1957, Accra (2023), stands as a testament to her unwavering dedication to redefining the narrative of Ghanaian identity. Recent presentations include 1-54 Marrakesh (2024), alongside Amoako Boafo and Zanele Muholi; Unapologetic WomXn: The Dream is the Truth, curated by Destinee Ross Sutton at the Venice Biennale (2024); and the Sharjah Biennale (2024).
Building on the milestone of being the subject of her first museum exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA, she was commissioned for a landmark installation in the museum’s Atrium in November 2025, becoming the first woman and youngest artist to undertake this prestigious project.
Benissan’s work is represented in numerous private and institutional collections, including Foundation H, The Dean Collection, The OmenaArt Foundation, Fundación Yannick y Ben, Paola Pavirani Golinelli, Nicolas Berggruen, Amoako Boafo, among others.
Image credit: Installation view, The Procession. Photo: Slater Studio, courtesy of Zeitz MOCAA.