PROFILE

NAGASAKA MAGO

Artist
MAGO CREATION Co., Ltd. Representative Director
MAGO MOTORS JAPAN Co., Ltd. Representative Director
MAGO MOTORS LTD CEO
iU Information Management Innovation Professional University Visiting Professor

Born in 1984. Visited Agbogbloshie, a slum in Ghana, in June 2017, and met people who make a living by burning electronic devices thrown away by developed countries. Since then, he has created works using waste materials and used the earnings from the sales to build local recycling plants, as well as to develop businesses that do not pollute the environment, such as agriculture and EVs. He advocates ``sustainable capitalism,'' a new capitalist system in which the three axes of “Economy”, “Culture”, and “Environment (social contribution)” are in a virtuous cycle, and continues to work tirelessly every day to transform slums into sustainable towns. In September 2022, his first solo museum exhibition will be held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo. In November of the same year, he won the 51st Best Dressed Award in the academic and cultural category. He established "MAGO MOTORS LTD" in Ghana, which currently employs 53 Ghanaians. (As of December 2023)

HISTORY

Started drawing on the streets of Shinjuku

The company he ran went bankrupt. After that, he traveled to 16 countries around the world, painting on the streets, and kept on selling his work to art galleries.

2009 (25 years old)
First solo exhibition held at a gallery in Shanghai

The terrorist attacks in Paris led to a change in his creative style. He begins painting works depicting the moon, which is a prayer for world peace.

2015 (31 years old)
Encounter with Agbogbloshie

After seeing a press photo of a child standing in front of a pile of garbage, he learned about Agbogbloshie, a slum in Ghana that is one of the world's largest e-waste graveyards.

2016 (32 years old)
Traveled Alone to Agbogbloshie, Ghana

He is shocked when he meets people in slums who eke out a living on 500 yen a day, burning e-waste and breathing toxic gas. He decided to change this absurd reality through art.

2017 (33 years old)
Money from sold art goes to the local area

A work depicting a child from a slum was sold for 15 million yen for the first time. Taking this opportunity, he delivered more than 1,000 gas masks and also established MAGO Art & Study, a completely free private school in the area.

2018 (34 years old)
Establishing the first cultural facility in a slum

Established the "MAGO E-waste Museum" to create a new economy and culture locally. At this time, a film crew led by an Emmy Award-winning director filmed a documentary film about MAGO. "MAGO GALLERY" opened in Japan.

2019 (35 years old)
Achieved first place in crowdfunding history

He raised funds for the production of the documentary film "Still A Black Star" that tells about his activities, and raised over 30 million yen. Achieved first place in the history of CAMPFIRE movie category. ICC Summit KYOTO 2020 Catapult Grand Prix Winner. Started MAGO GALLERY ONLINE.

2020 (36 years old)
Established the first recycling factory in Ghana

The first recycling factory, which has a site area of 700 square meters, will operate and create local employment. Every month, several tons of e-waste is brought to the factory, where it is collected, cleaned, and crushed.

2021 (37 years old)
Held his first solo exhibition at a museum

Held his first museum solo exhibition at the Ueno Royal Museum. He won the 51st Best Dresser Award (Academic/Cultural Category). He established "MAGO MOTORS LTD" in Ghana, and currently 53 Ghanaians employees are engaged in recycling plants, agriculture, EV business, art gallery management, etc.(As of December 2023)

2022 (38 years old)