In cities shaped by movement, trade, and routine, there are people whose labor makes daily life possible yet rarely earns recognition.
They are the fishermen returning at dawn, the market women arranging produce before sunrise, the drivers transporting goods across crowded streets, and the artisans whose work quietly supports entire communities.
With SEEN, photographer and visual storyteller Stephen Nyamekye brings these individuals into focus.
Opening on June 6 at AkunaPod, the exhibition is a portrait series and visual storytelling project centered on everyday workers whose contributions often go unnoticed despite their importance to society.
Through carefully composed portraits and documentary-style storytelling, Nyamekye captures the humanity behind labor. Rather than presenting his subjects as anonymous figures within the backdrop of city life, SEEN positions them at its center.
The exhibition explores how communities function through an interconnected ecosystem of work. Farmers produce food, drivers transport it, market women distribute it, and artisans create the tools and materials people rely on daily. By tracing these connections, SEENchallenges ideas about status, visibility, and whose work is considered valuable.
Nyamekyeʼs images, at their core, focus on presence – the expressions, environments, and gestures that reveal resilience and discipline. The result is a body of work that feels both socially conscious and deeply personal.
Rooted in themes of humanity and community, SEENalso reflects on the meaning of purpose beyond recognition.
It asks viewers to reconsider the people they pass every day and the invisible systems sustained by ordinary work.
In a culture increasingly driven by visibility and performance, SEENoffers something quieter and more enduring: recognition.
SEEN opens on June 6 at AkunaPod, First Norla Street, Labone. Guests are invited to experience the exhibition and engage with the stories of the individuals whose everyday work continues to shape community life.
Written by Kelvin Amponsah.