Art Worlds in Ghana

So many rounds to do promoting the event, going to various TV and radio stations, dropping off posters at embassies and establishments, picking up art supplies, etc. People have been amazingly supportive, and  it looks like we’ll be getting plenty of news coverage. ‘Sgonna be big!

K, here are some photos from today’s meeting at the 441 school to figure out the mural. We met with everrryone working on the mural, not just the four leading workshops (Larry, Musah, Attukwei, Sharif) or the two guiding us (Mozzay and Shamoun, the established Nima artist teachers who are serving as our mentors/directors). The artists are designing the mural, and they’ll guide the students in painting it.

There's Shamoun and Mozzay in white at the back left. Musah's next to them in the hat, with Kamal, another artist pal I've been hearing about from Musah and finally got to meet. Mozzay and Shamoun taught all the young guys who are now working on the project. You can feel the respect when they walk into the room.

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Coral Paint agreed to be a sponsor and give us discounted supplies. Unik Image, which was going to give us a heavy discount, instead printed our posters (which look fab) completely FREE. Now we can spend the money on more art supplies. Woot woot. Also did I mention that Paloma Restaurant is providing some dishes for free, and Larry (Aminu)’s sister will cook up a huge pot of jollof rice for everyone?

Musah’s been busy buying supplies at the market. He, Larry, and Sharif met with the kids for more workshops yesterday. (Serge Attukwei Clottey is rejoining us next week once he’s done with his residency.) Musah was telling me about the pieces the students at Adab are doing…a mosque, a typical home in Nima, women fetching water. I can’t wait to see. In the meantime, I have lots of rounds to do, dropping off posters at various media houses and embassies. Can’t believe the event is one week from today.

And now I’m off to Chale Wote, that street art festival in Jamestown I mentioned in a previous post. Musah and Larry are both doing a painting on a building, Attukwei has his own show, and a bunch of my other friends are involved – Ato and Adwoa from the FCA; Bernard Akoi-Jackson whom I finally got to sit down with this week; Toke Olagbaju, a friend of a friend who runs I Heart Accra…and more.

The community art project is coming along.

We’re holding it in Nima cause the JAC started there, and because it’s a pretty poor area that doesn’t get much art, and we’d like to bring it there. Ato and Adwoa from the Foundation for Contemporary Art (FCA) recommended some young, community-oriented artists from Nima to get in touch with, Larry Aminu and Musah Swallah. I met them last night at Larry (Otoo)’s talk at Nubuke (which was wonderful, by the way). They were on board practically before we started talking. Today they took me around the streets of Nima for us to pick a spot.

Larry Aminu

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Hey out there.

Well I’m back to Ghana again this summer, doing related but slightly different work. I’m in the process of changing the blog title to reflect the new theme, from “Junior Art Club in Accra, Ghana” (the organization where I worked last summer) to “Art Worlds in Ghana.”

There are two parts to this project: one, helping artists to archive their work and establish websites; and two, organizing an art project in a public space between the artists and local students, in collaboration with the Junior Art Club (JAC). I’m staying with the artist Larry Otoo, and I’ll also be working with Wiz Kudowor, Serge Attukwei Clottey, and Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya. Or at least that’s the idea… It’s Ghana, so who knows what will happen. Last summer I ended up doing very different things from what I expected (thought I’d be doing film, media and journalism work, but ending up doing more theater, creative writing, networking, etc.). It worked out great, but I have to recognize that there’s only so much I can plan for.

This time I’ll be based in the capital, Accra, rather than splitting my time between there and Ada Foah, a coastal village just outside the city. But I’ll still go back to Ada to visit my Ghanaian fam, don’t worry Kofi, Gladys, Euphemia, Alfred.

Here's a reminder of who Larry is

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