Art Worlds in Ghana

Just got back from Nima: Muhinmanchi Art. I could hardly be happier, I was smiling the whole day. It may have been a bit crazy and crowded (Nima kids are a handful), but the art was amazing, the murals were so so beautiful, and man, the place was packed.

I’m touched by the kindness and support we received — from David, the manager at Paloma Restaurant who drove over half the food packages when our car was too full; to Jane, a waitress who’d helped me with directions last week, and actually came to the event; to Alex Akuffo, our photographer who got married YESTerday but came anyway; to my Ghanaian family the Otoos (they all came to “dangerous” Nima, even the kids); to my professor Jesse Shipley, the only one to be at my Ghana arts events both here and at Haverford (Intersecting Zones in December); to Panji, a hip life music producer I thought might be too busy to come, but ended up staying the whole day and said he’d be behind making this program an annual event. That’s not even the half of it, I can’t begin to thank the artists, students, sponsors, community leaders, and friends who came together today. I’m so lucky to have had Larry and Musah as partners, and Kelvin as my boss. K I’ll stop, sorry for getting sentimental guys.

Now they’re talking about V.I.P. and their new single on the radio. I feel pretty proud to have had them at our event. It was Prodigal’s birthday Thursday btw, happy birthday Prodigal (one of the three members).

Will post pictures later. Mom and Dad, hope you’re ready for all the paintings I bought.

P.S. Our IndieGogo fundraising site shuts down today, but if anyone wants to donate directly…we went a lettle bit over budget. Contact me.

I’m lucky to have a great Ghanaian dad here, but I’m thinking of you. Went to church again this year. This time it was a big Baptist church in the city, and I didn’t have to shake hands with all the fathers. I did get to meet a bunch of Larry’s friends, though.

Love you!

At the recommendation of Steve Feld (an anthropologist in Ghana who is a friend of my mother’s friend, and who also turned out to be my professor Ruti Talmor’s professor back at NYU…small world), I got in touch with the people who run the Foundation for Contemporary Art (FCA), Ato and Adwoa. They gave me some great advice and a number of people to contact and places to visit.

Thanks to Ato and Adjoa, I visited the Dei Centre — it supports NYU students doing art in Ghana and is basically an amazing collection of contemporary, mostly African art. The work at the Dei Centre is more politically charged and cutting-edge than at the Artists Alliance, which tends to be more traditional (market scenes, ladies, etc.). There was more multimedia work at the Dei – canvases made of beads, collage works, layered sculpture-paintings, a wall of adrinka symbols made by the old Italian ambassador to Ghana.

A number of artists overlap with the Artists’ Alliance, including Larry, Wiz, and George Hughes. But there were also more younger artists and a greater range at the Dei Centre. I was thrilled to see challenging, political artwork in Ghana, and a space for younger (though still successful) artists alongside more established ones. Plus, the staff there could not be nicer. Michael, Michael, and Jennifer, three university grads fulfilling their year of service, were happy to show me around the center and tell me about their work.