Bringing West Africa to the Midwest

Kaleb Williams

On the surface it may not seem that athletes and artists have much in common, but acrylic painter Sahr Ngekia is blurring the lines in his own way and at his own pace. A modern renaissance man, Sahr (pronounced “saw”) seesaws back and forth between the analytical complexities of medical sales to his detailed, but free flowing and captivating paintings. His West African art style influenced by his Sierra Leonean mother and Nigerian father paired with desire to tell cultural stories through his line work produces paintings that depict his beginning, middle, and future.

Like many artists in 2020, Sahr’s art future launched with a pandemic thought and zoning out during tedious work meetings. “Sitting through classes and then meetings I’ve always done sketches and doodles and thought what would this look like if I blew it up? So, when the pandemic started really locking us down, I ordered some canvas and paints for something I thought was just going to be a weekend project.” That weekend project lasted 1.5 weeks and provided him with an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and encouragement from the online art community. “I posted the journey on social media; I got positive feedback from people saying I need to do more. One piece turned into two, two turned into three, etc. and right now I’m up to number 17 as far as big piece commissions.”

Although the eyes on his art are new, his interest is not, but more so re-kindled. It began like many of us, through Pokémon. “As a kid growing up, I always liked to sketch, and I was huge into Pokémon. I had this book with all the characters and their attributes - so I’d try and copy what I saw in the book by drawing the Pokémon. Then in 6th grade I took an art class, and my teacher did line work, so that kind of got things going with where I’m at now. I’ve always liked patterns and designs in general.”

What caused the hiatus from art between 6th grade and The Pandemic? Football. “As I got older, I started playing sports and got really good at them, so art kind of got pushed to the background as something I did” He continues, “flash forward to me being an adult now, the pandemic happens, things slowed down a lotta bit. Still worked, but they didn’t want us in the hospitals unless it was an emergency procedure. My dog could only take so many walks, and I could only write so many emails.”

And now we’re here – in 2023, with being a featured artist at TedX event in Chicago, Sahr strives to shine the light on West African artists, whether that’s a big showcase for collaboration opportunities.

“It’s been a fun journey and now we’re 3+ years into it and the biggest thing I got out of it all was the therapeutic aspect of it. The practice, discipline, and work ethic from being an athlete carried over. It was nice to have a creative outlet during the isolation and been great working in the art community, a good contrast to my typical work.“