Inside Red Clay Studio: Ghana’s Hidden Creative Wonderland You Need to See

If you’re headed north in Ghana and think it’s all Smocks, cattles, and ancient mosques—think again. Tucked away in the vibrant city of Tamale is a place that challenges everything you thought you knew about art, memory, and movement: Red Clay Studio.

I recently toured this mind-bending space with David, one of the local guides, and I’m still processing what I saw. Imagine a place where broken skateboards become sculpture, old shoeshine boxes become soul-soaked monuments, and rusted stretchers from Greece tell stories about oil, blood, and colonial residue. That’s Red Clay.

What Is Red Clay Studio?

Started by renowned Ghanaian visual artist Ibrahim Mahama in 2014, Red Clay began as his personal studio and living space. But Mahama’s vision quickly outgrew the walls—and what’s emerged since is a living, breathing archive of Ghanaian experience, global reuse, and radical creativity.

David puts it best:

“It’s an open studio, which is not usually common in the world. The idea is to walk into an artist’s process—to be inside the art itself.”

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The Shoeshine Boxes That Talk Back

One of the most powerful installations at Red Clay is the Nonorientable Nkansah, a labyrinth of 4,000 wooden shoeshine boxes. These boxes were collected from young Ghanaian migrants—often boys who travel from rural towns to southern cities hoping for work, but end up shining shoes to survive.

The boxes are more than tools—they’re homes, storage units, even musical instruments. When these boys bang the boxes to get attention, each one has a unique sound. At Red Clay, those sounds are preserved, echoing across the open spaces like a chorus of untold stories.

The Archives: Where Time Collides

Another gem is The Archives, a room filled with old Ghanaian books, documents, and mystical objects. Here you’ll find everything from colonial-era trade reports to bulletproof smocks once worn by northern warriors, believed to offer spiritual protection.

There’s even a vintage gramophone—a dusty echo of the musical past—and shelves of jewelry boxes and household items collected across Ghana.

“We want to go back to the past,” David says, “and pick up ideas that can help shape our future.”

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Art That Bleeds and Smokes

If you’re into experimental installations, Capital C and the replica medical stretchers will stop you in your tracks.

The stretchers—originally from Greece and replicated in Ghana—are made from materials soaked in car oil and fish grease. It’s a visceral experience. Mahama compares the stains of oil to blood, linking it to the ways trauma and labor stain bodies, histories, and economies.

“He’s trying to bring out the ghost from them,” David explains. “When you listen to the sounds, people are able to feel it.”

Why Red Clay Needs to Be on Your Ghana Itinerary

Whether you’re an art lover, a history nerd, or just someone who loves stumbling into weird, beautiful corners of the world—Red Clay will stay with you. It’s not just a museum. It’s not just a studio. It’s a memory factory, a sound lab, a monument to the marginalized.

And best of all? It’s open to the public. You’re not just looking at art—you’re walking inside it.

Watch A Full Video Tour Of The Red Clay