Artists showcase Ghana's culture

Accra, June 16, GNA - A national art exhibition featuring the works of 12 contemporary artists selected from various parts of the country opens in Accra on Thursday, (tomorrow) to showcase to international community that Ghana was not only about AIDS and poverty but has a culture that united the people.

The exhibition, known as the "Transition," is a collection of high quality contemporary art works that expressed the thoughts, the life and challenges of Ghanaians in a wide perspective through modern art.

The Danish Trade Union Council for International Development Cooperation (LO/FTF), the College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Artists Alliance Gallery are collaborating to put up the exhibition.

The ten-day exhibition would feature the works of artists including Mr. Ablade Glover, Rikki Wemega-Kwaku, Ben Offei Nyarko, Kofi Asante, Gabriel Eklou and Kofi Setordji, after which the exhibition would be further transported to Copenhagen, Denmark from September 24 to October 10, this year.

Mr Francesco Ippolito, Cultural Project Co-ordinator, LO/FTF, briefing the press on Wednesday, explained that the exhibition was to encourage local patronage of Ghanaian art works and further help establish international market links for Ghana's culture. He said Ghana had a beautiful culture that had been expressed in various styles of contemporary paintings and there was the need for the international community to know that Ghana was not only about AIDS and poverty, but had a culture that united the people.

"The artists have successfully re-positioned Ghana's own cultural symbols as successful artistic tools, explored them and given them personal contemporary perspectives in divers styles to promote and give meaning to Ghana's culture," he said.

"Culture is the soil that provides a society's nourishment and the basis on which it defines its value system, traditions and behaviour and it contributes to the development process by creating consciousness", he said.

Mr. Ippolito said the LO/FTF was collaborating with the TUC and see how best to help find market for products of young artists in Ghana.

He stated that the LO/FTF was collaborating with the Art Academy in Ghana and that of the Royal Danish Academy of Arts to further support young artists to improve upon their carrier.

Mr Ablade-Glover, Director, Artists Alliance Gallery, urged Ghanaians to appreciate their culture and to uphold it. He noted that foreigners often purchased most of the art works, but "we need to appreciate our own culture and contribute to their sustenance," he said.

He hoped that through the medium of the works of contemporary art, the Danish people would learn more about the people of Ghana, their hopes and aspirations, philosophies and values.