Her maternal grandfather was Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, the renowned king of Akyem Abuakwa who was hailed as the Louis XIV of Africa,[3] and her great-uncle was J.

[5][6] Writer Ayesha Harruna Attah describes the book as an "expansive and contemplative debut, themes of art, history, literature, film, and legacy intermingle with Maya's coming-of-age.

As we hear Maya pondering Goethe's idea of Weltliteratur and reflecting on just how lacking world literature actually is, books such as The God Child have the potential to enrich it and, in Berger's words, bring new ways of seeing.

"[9] While researching for her master's degree in African Art History, she realised all the terms and concepts used to describe Ghanaian artistic expression were Western ones.

Her research for indigenous concepts led her to the Ayan, a form of telling history in Ghana; and the Afahye, a historical exhibition or Gesamtkunstwerk model.

She is the founder of the ANO Institute of Arts & Knowledge in Accra,[20] and has said that "like a lot of people involved in creative work in Ghana and other parts of Africa, it feels like it's not just enough for us to produce, but that we have to provide the context and the paradigms for that production.

[22][23][24][25][26] The New York Times reviewer writes: "The encyclopaedia will consist of an open-source internet platform for documenting past, present and future African arts and culture (starting with Ghana) and eventually will be published in 54 volumes, one for each country.

Struck by how differently African objects were encountered in display cabinets in the UK with how they were actively used in festivals back home, she began to think about how material culture could be preserved and presented in a way that was more in keeping with local traditions.