ANTHONY J. ARTIS

Anthony J. 'Tony' Artis, aka 'Baba Amoah' (AH-moe-wah) is a native of Kokomo, Indiana, and has lived in Indianapolis, Indiana, since 1978. He began studying trumpet at age 12, bass guitar at age 14 and African percussion in 1990.

He has studied percussion in various cities in the U.S., Ghana, West Africa and Cuba. Tony received the Indianapolis Arts Council's Creative Renewal Fellowship in 1999 and 2007, an Individual Artist Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission in 2001 and the Apprentice Program grant from Traditional Arts Indiana in 2017.

He is an African drummaker, owner/operator of Amoah's African Drum Works and Coal Bin Productions. Artis loves teaching children and is a teaching artist with Arts for Learning (affiliate of Young Audiences of Indiana) and a Master Artist with Art Mix, formerly VSA Arts of Indiana, (enabling all people to experience art). He is the founder and artistic director of Ori Afro Jazz Ensemble and co-founder of Sancocho Music and Dance Collage.

Tony began his career as a full-time professional musician in 2000, after retiring from his 25 year practice as an architect (Bach. Environmental Design, Miami Univ. School of Architecture, Oxford, OH) and semi-professional musician. He likes all genres of music as long as it is performed to the best of the artists' ability.

Artis also became known as Babalawo Awodele Ifasina (Bah-bah-LAH-woe  Ah-WOE-deh-leh  Ee-FAH-shee-nah) in 2004 when he reached an advanced level in the Afro-Cuban spiritual system known as Lukumi (Loo-koo-MEE).  Lukumi is the Afro Cuban version of the traditional Nigerian Yoruba spiritual system known as Ifa (ee-FAH).  Ifasina has been an Ifa/Lukumi practitioner since 1997.