Local artist and business owner Ebenezer Akakpo will work with fourth-grade students at Saccarappa School in Westbrook over the next year to create an outdoor sculpture that will become a permanent part of the campus.

The metal sculpture, currently in the early design stage, will be the culmination of Akakpo’s artist residency at the school, but fourth-grade art teacher Cheryl Juniewicz said it will provide students other valuable lessons along the way.

Often students see art as just a fun hobby, she said, but Akakpo’s own background shows how much more it can be.

“He’s interesting because his journey hasn’t been a straight line,” Juniewciz said. “It offers a lot to our students who also have challenges or don’t know what they want. See perseverance and really follow what you want to do, how you develop that, and how it is not always what you thought it would be to be.”

Akakpo, who is originally from Ghana but now lives in South Portland, had long dreamed of becoming an artist, but his vision changed over time as he went to school and was introduced to new methods, especially the use of computer technology in art. He now designs African-inspired jewelry and other merchandise, which he retails and wholesales from his Dana Warp Mill studio. He also did public art installations in Portland, but there was a long period when he didn’t know what to do with his skills, he said.

He hopes to inspire the work of Saccarappa students on all facets of themselves and encourage them to think about their future.

Ebenezer Akakpo installs “Hope and Friendship” in a bus shelter in Portland in 2020. His work was part of a Creative Portland public art initiative. Contributed/Creative Portland

“I will try to do everything in my power to to encourage children not only draw, but write and read,” he said. “I know as an artist people think you just sit down and draw. It is not about it. It is on the drawing, then communicate what you draw.

One of the big lessons Akakpo wants to teach is that to be successful, you have to be well-rounded. For an artist, it also means learning marketing, communication, business and more.

Fourth-grade students work on potential themes for the sculpture, based on Akakpo’s iconic Ghanaian-inspired symbols, and then move on to possible designs. They will have the opportunity to work in his workshop to make models of their ideas with his 3D printers and use other tools.

The students will also help build the final design, which is expected to be completed next year.

“They will see and connect with an artist in their community, which will make a career opportunity a reality for them,” Juniewicz said.

According to the non-profit group Americans for the Arts, public works of art like the sculpture that students will create create bonds and pride among community members.

“Students will feel like they’re part of something, they’ll see it and say they’ve been working on it, and it will follow them,” Juniewicz said.

Akakpo said that while he hopes to teach the kids a lot, he can also see himself learning a thing or two.

“I learn from everyone. We never know. Maybe they’ll come up with ideas that will trigger something in my mind as well,” he said.

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