Name

Jakupa Ako

Other names

JAKUPA

Culture

Papua New Guinean

Gender

Male

Birth date

about 1942

Birth place

Bena Bena Valley, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea View on map Close map

Death date

November 1997

Death Place

Bena Bena Valley, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea View on map Close map

Occupations

Artist (painter) | Artist (textile) | Drawer | Printmaker

Summary

Worked: Papua New Guinea. Screenprints

NGA IRN

17459

Context

Australia | Papua New Guinea

Biography

Jakupa Ako

Jakupa Ako was one of Papua New Guinea’s most successful artists. He was born at Meganagu village in the Bena Bena valley of the Eastern Highlands c.1942. As a cleaner at Goroka Teachers College he began to draw, and with encouragement from staff, began attending classes. Ako returned to his village in 1972, but was soon in demand for major commissions. These led to a scholarship at the Creative Arts Centre at Port Moresby in 1974. As well as paintings and drawings, Jakupa produced appliqued works and some remarkable prints. He exhibited internationally throughout his career and received an MBE for his service to art in 1981. He died in 1999. 

© Australianprints 2001