News
University of Ghana opens maiden ‘Artify’ visual arts exhibition
The University of Ghana, in partnership with Nubuke Foundation and KGL Foundation, has launched a week-long visual arts exhibition titled ‘Artify’ on the University’s campus.
Running from November 26 to December 2, the event showcases drawings and paintings by eight visual artists selected by the University.
The artists participated in a two-week skills and business orientation training before the exhibition, where they were coached on art practice fundamentals, copyright and intellectual property, entrepreneurship, and business management.
The training was to help the artists upscale their craft and expand their client reach, equipping them to become more business-oriented art professionals.
The Artify project, under the theme Amplifying Art as a Business, was conceived by the University of Ghana’s Office of Research, Innovation, and Development (ORID).
Professor Felix Ankomah Asante, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Development, University of Ghana, said they aimed to equip them with the necessary tools and skills to thrive as artists and entrepreneurs.
“This initiative nurtures talent and fosters entrepreneurial spirit among young aspiring artists. Together, we cultivate creativity and transform passion into sustainable careers,” he said.
Prof. Asante said that the skills required to run an art business were often overlooked, as art was commonly perceived as a hobby that doesn’t necessitate specialised management skills.
He argued that by integrating business and project management skills into the art ecosystem in Ghana, more organisations and investors could be encouraged to support creatives.
Madam Odile Tevie, Director of Nubuke Foundation, called on authorities to create more platforms, similar to the Artify exhibition, where artists could showcase their work.
She advocated the establishment of visual arts spaces in communities, where local talents could receive training and be nurtured in their craft.
Mr Sedem Atsu Avornyo, one of the participating artists, praised the University and its partners for the initiative.
He noted that his knowledge and skills had been greatly enriched, better preparing him for the job market. –GNA
News
Swallowed by the Sea! …Keta’s coastal lines, landmarks, efforts to preserve heritage
The Atlantic Ocean is no longer a distant blue horizon for the people of Keta.
It now circles around their doorsteps, uninvited, unrelenting, pulling down walls and other structures, erasing memories, and threatening lives.
Hovering precariously between the restless sea and the Keta Lagoon, this once-thriving coastal town is slowly being obliterated.
Salt water has become both a physical and metaphorical threat, dissolving the town’s past as fast as it claims its future.
Madam Aku Atitso, 62, lives in a crumbling former Prisons Service quarters – one of the few structures still standing on the eroded stretch of Queen Street.
She sits quietly at the entrance, preparing a modest breakfast for herself and her granddaughter.
The air is thick with salt and silence. “The sea took everything,” she says softly. “My husband’s nets, our mattress, our memories all gone overnight.” Her voice trembles. “This place too is dying. But it’s the last place with a roof over my head.”
A few metres away, Aunty Esinam, 79, watches the sea from a low stool beside a wooden shelter. Her eyes do not blink. “That spot,” she points, “used to be someone’s living room, a whole family lived there”.
It’s not just homes that are vanishing. Landmarks that anchored Keta’s cultural identity are disappearing one after another. The once-imposing Fort Prinzenstein, a haunting relic of the transatlantic slave trade is now more of a ruin than a monument.
the encroaching waters along Keta’s
coast.
encroaching waters along Keta’s coast
The colonial-era Bremen factory, the old cinema where generations of children once laughed at flickering black-and-white films is also gone.
Queen Street, once the town’s bustling backbone, is now a watery corridor choked with debris.
Standing atop a section of the sea defence wall, 69-year-old retired teacher Efo Kwasi Agbeko surveys what remains.
“The first police station is mostly gone,” he says, gesturing part of the building stuck in the sea sand, only ruins and a few rooms remain.
“This town is fighting, but the sea is winning,” he said.
Even the Cape St. Paul Lighthouse, Keta’s historic sentinel, leans perilously toward the water, and fishermen say holes in the shore are opening more frequently, sometimes every week.
That leaves a thick cloud of uncertainty hanging around the historic town of Keta.
Once upon a time, it was a vibrant town noted for business but currently left with ruins with a few of the residents watching in awe the sea’s devastation.
From: Geoffrey Kwame Buta, Keta, Volta Region
News
Ghanaians climax Easter with fun-filled activities
Christians around the world and other faith based groups last Monday climaxed the Easter celebration with a number of fun-filled outdoor and indoor activities.
With streets empty, fun seekers stormed church premises where picnics were held while others partied in many ways.
Others spent the day at the various beaches and music and film shows occupying the others.
velleyball competition
at the Laboma Beach
Church in Tema Community 8 engaged
in a number of activities including the
popular draught competition
At the churches, participants engaged in bible reading, football, volleyball, playing cards, table tennis, horse racing, bouncing castles, swimming and oware.
one of the picnic venues
Others played ludo, tag of war, lime and spoon, draught, music competitions among others.
The Spectator captured some of the exciting scenes around Accra-Tema for the benefit of readers.
Story & pictures by Victor A. Buxton
