Susan Addy & Okropong
Legacy Champions

Susan Addy is currently the Executive Director of The Obo Ady Legacy Project. With her husband, Obo, she founded the nonprofit organization to present and preserve African music and dance in the Portland area and throughout the country.

Susan has worked for a number of nonprofits in the Portland area including: Young Audiences, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Oregon College of Art and Craft and Hillsboro Community Arts. She served as visual arts coordinator for Artquake for several years and for ten years was the coordinator for the Blue Lake Park Concert Series. Susan produced the Homowo Festival of African Arts for 15 years.

Obo Addy is the creator and inspiration behind a group of men who perform some of the traditional music and dance from Ghana. He passed away in September of 2012 after introducing African music to Oregon and working here for over 38 years. Obo brought over 30 musicians and dancers to this country to start new lives for themselves and share their culture through the arts. This group includes Obo’s son and grandson as well as other master performers from Ghana.

Obo not only performed but also composed music from jazz to classical. He was a taskmaster who spent a lifetime preserving the music of his country. In his time in Oregon he either performed or taught over one million people, frequently providing a first introduction to the music of Africa. In 1996 Addy was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship Award by the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor a traditional artist can receive in this country.

Read more about Susan Addy & Okropong on our blog.