By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

Works by Tunisian artist Thameur Mejri that comprise a melody of colors, human limbs, birds, aircrafts, geometric shapes, television sets and animals among others never fail to grab the immediate attention of viewers as it explores the image of Tunisian society.

Noted for the distinction of his paint strokes accompanied by intermittent intensity, the artist, whose works are currently on show at Gallery 1957 in Accra, reveal a powerful visual language that has been embedded in different historical references.

Evidently obsessed with colours, the intricacy of his compositions are the direct result of the firmness of his reflection, his creative process and undeniably the intellectual endeavor, which end up in paintings that are formidable with definitions reflecting the image of Tunisian society.

Titled “Eroded Grounds”, the exhibition is rife with motifs, which Mejri effectively combines with a vigorous application of paint thereby creating a sensation of tense vibration. Undeniably, this enables his messages to be transmitted in a manner that results in varying degrees of comprehension.

Also a professor at the Tunis Institute of Fine Arts (Tunisia), Mejri’s work equally deals with violence, cruelty and narrow-mindedness, which he represents with guns, skulls, hands, mutilated bodies, knives, animals, masks, telephones, calligraphy, chairs and many others that embrace pictograms emerging from his concepts. 

Indeed, the human body is central to Mejri and he employs it in diverse ways to address issues in his native Tunisia and beyond while expressing some level of sensitivity.  Indeed, within his gyratory colors, symphonies of images appear and they tend to live side by side in in restrained chaos.

Mejri sees the human body a mechanism that can build, produce and love but can at the same time be an instrument of domination, destruction and death as he makes allusions to the politico-cultural situation in Tunisia vis-à-vis the conflict between tradition and modernity.

Chaos reigns across the majority of the paintings – and it is disorder under crushing burden as he depicts different types of pressure his generation and indeed the larger society is currently facing in his native country and elsewhere.  

The exhibition ends on Tuesday May 7, 2019.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

Three books comprising novels and a collection of poems by Ghanaian academic Dr. Mawuli Adzei were over the weekend launched with a remarkable ceremony at the National Theatre in Accra.

“Bakudi’s Ghost”, “Guilty as Charged” and “Filaments”, vividly portray Dr. Adzei as a prolific writer whose narrative power, plots, scenes and tales are virtual page- turners. Indeed, they are stunningly confident books with a fresh take on diverse issues that regularly confront us.

“Filaments”, which is a compilation of his reflections through poetry, reveal his mastery of interlacing diverse topics into poetry for intellectuals while easily serving as material for spoken, theatre, music and dance.

Undeniably, the ability of his poems taking on drama, music and dance was demonstrated by short performances directed by Oswald Okaitei, who effectively conceptualized stringed poems by Adzei into creative and brilliant acts drawing cheers from the audience.

Reviews by Dr. Osei Bonsu (Guilty as Charged), Dr. Kwame Osei Poku (Bakudi’s Ghost) and Dr. Kwabena Opoku Agyemang (Filaments) – all from the Department of English, University of Ghana (Legon), provided fresh insights into the quality of Dr. Adzei’s writing while reminding us of his reputation as a skillful writer.

Dr. Adzei has taught creative writing, oral literature, popular genres, postcolonial literature and other courses at the Department of English, University of Ghana. He is also the author of “Taboo” (fiction 2012), “Testament of Seasons” (poetry 2013) and “The Jewel of Kabibi” (fiction 2014). 

He has been a resource person in creating writing for the Ghana Writers Association, Mbaasem Foundation and the Ghana Institute of Journalism. Selections of his poetry have been performed at the Babishai Literary Festival (Uganda), Story Moja Festival (Kenya), Programme de la RICEP (Togo), Walk The Talk (Ghana) and World Poetry Day (Norway).

Present at the ceremony include Prof. Kofi Anyidoho (University of Ghana), Nana Kwasi Gyan-Appenteng (Ghana Association of Writers), Dr. Martin Egblewobe (Writers Project of Ghana), Amy Frimpong (National Theatre of Ghana) and Ernestina Lartey Asinura (Ghana Book Development Council), who launched the book.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

An exhibition of artworks by Owusu Dartey, Prof. Edmund Tetteh and Albert Osabu Bartimeus – undisputed fathers of Ghanaian modern art – will on Wednesday April 3 open at the Dei Centre for the Study of Contemporary Art in Accra.

Works by the artists – who are all deceased, explore their ability to describe and convey a sense of beginning, people and places – while highlighting their contribution to the development of Ghanaian contemporary art.

Whether referencing an identifiable subject matter / content or one that is conceptual / abstract in some sense, each painting encourages the viewer to contemplate and decipher the physical context in which the work was executed.

The works present a travelogue of locales, festivals, portraits and other thematic compositions. Indeed, they embody networks introduced by a new spirit of contemporaneity, material and political sensitivity while reflecting public engagements.

Visitors to the Dei Centre, which is located in Tesano (a suburb of Accra), are also expected to witness images that provide oblique references to places thereby facilitating an ability to imagine and reconstruct specific coordinates of the paintings.

Undeniably, Dartey’s (1927 – 2018) vast expanses of paintings present unobstructed views from seaside life and market scenes embodied by colourful rural life. Furthermore, many of the settings in which the figures are illustrated remain stubbornly elusive and transparent at the same time.

Subject matter by Bartimeus (1927 – 1988) is somewhat not so different from his contemporary but his technique and mastery over oil paint is enormously contemplative. Some of his subjects recede into the shadows of the enigmatic Ghanaian market life. Indeed, the prominence he gives to his paintings on fish underline the importance of fisher folk to development.

Master colourist Prof. Tetteh (1924 – 2007) projects the sacredness of Ghanaian portraits. The boldness in rendition of characters and strong brush strokes makes commonplace settings become extraordinary. His choice of colours – which enshrine a hallucinatory and technicolour realm – equally reveal nature’s beautiful embodiments.

Titled, “Owusu Dartey & His Circle of Friends: Albert O. Bartimeaus, Prof. E.K. Tetteh”, the exhibition equally presents a shared platform not only to celebrate but to also question their roles, how society perceives their contribution and its influences on their professional and personal choices.   

The exhibition, which is being curated by Leroy Coubagy and Michael Martey, ends on Friday June 28.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

Veteran palm wine music exponent Agya Koo Nimo, recently delighted an enthusiastic audience at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra with steady rhythms, light percussion and songs that continuously flowed at an upbeat pace.

Performing at the launch of  “To Wo Ho Fo”, a seven track album by Kwan Pa Band, the 86 year old living legend and his Adadam Agofomma Band charmed the audience with relaxed and calming music that revealed the richness of traditional Ghanaian melodies.

Full of energy, Koo Nimo was in Accra from his Kumasi base to offer support to Kwan Pa, a group that has taken on the challenge to preserve, develop and promote traditional Ghanaian and African music, which has taken the world music scene by storm in the past several years.

Employing traditional instruments such as seperewa (harp lute), frikyiwa (castanet), dawuta (twin bell), shekere (rattle), gome (square bass drum), kpanlogo drums and an acoustic guitar, the group entertained the audience with tracks from the album that recall the skills of their elders, who propagated this type of music in the early 20^th century.

Led by Andrew Nkansah Asa, Kwan Pa Band, which shot to fame in December 2018 with a localized version of  “Five Gold Rings” by Murgatroyd/Burrell, descended into their own world and thrilled the crowd with their version of traditional Ghanaian music, which is partially geared in the direction of palm wine highlife. 

With Frederick Minamor (kpanlogo drums, vocals), Isaac Kojo Baah (Shekere, Dawuta, vocals), Bismark Kwabena Safo (gome, vocals), Andrew Nkansah Asa (guitar, vocals), the album is full of compositions that send us back into the past and forward into the future through an effective use of melodic and rhythmic structures of Akan traditional music.

Earlier, seperewa virtuoso Osei Korankye together with singer Ewura Ama Agyepong and guitarist Dr. Corlter Harter, a visiting academic from the University of Pittsburg (USA) entertained the crowd with a number of compositions by Korankye, which equally revealed the effectiveness of cross cultural collaboration.   

Comprising students of the Music Department, University of Ghana, the Legon Palm Wine Band delighted the audience with diverse compositions that spanned several decades while reminding the crowd of the beauty, diversity and power of traditional rhythms.

“To Wo Ho Fo” was recorded at Sawnd Factory Studios in Accra with Ernest O-Poku and Samuel Nana as engineers.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

Vaudou Game, a Franco-Togolese band over the weekend rolled out a refreshing fusion of vodoo and funk rhythms that turned the Alliance Française into a rocking musical experience.

In a powerful performance that opened the 2019 edition of Francophonie Festival, the group delighted the near capacity crowd with a penetrating show that revealed the beauty and diversity of cross cultural collaboration.

With three French and three Togolese musicians on stage, the scene was set for a multi cultural experience that embraced sacred songs of voodoo traditions in Benin and Togo as well as indigenous and western rhythms that coolly created a harmonious sound. 

Led by guitarist / singer Peter Solo, who was clad in multiple layers of beads, western instruments alongside shakers, bells and other traditional percussive instruments combined modernity and tradition, which were jointly and severally upheld on stage.  

Interspersed with strong rhythmic grooves and bass lines as well as messages on the voodoo faith by Solo, the group blended haunting lines, which are sung in honour of divinities with highly energetic funk ones that drew some members of the audience to the dance floor.

Undeniably, the group articulated contemporary experiences through an effervescent expropriation of rhythms from traditional African religion while blending it with funk and elements of jazz, soul and blues among others.   

The term “Francophonie” refers to all the states and governments worldwide who share the French language. The International Organization of La Francophonie, which was created in 1970, represents one of the biggest linguistic zones in the world.

Education Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh and Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway alongside Francophonie ambassadors in Ghana were present at the opening ceremony.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

Acclaimed Ghanaian poet / literary coach Nana Asaase virtually stunned a capacity crowd at the Goethe-Institut in Accra with a non-stop performance of several inspirational poems that captures the essentials of life.

Accompanied by guitarist Hashmullah, Asaase’s prolific voice forcefully transmitted his messages, which ranged from politics, love, hope, divinity, Africa to tradition to an audience that practically expressed their deep interest with rapt attention.

Clad in a colourful kente cloth wrapped around his body, the poet began with a memorial to the late Emeritus Prof J.H. Kwabena Nketia, who died early in the morning by capturing his contributions to the development of music in Ghana, Africa and the world at large.

Decked with a traditional sword and a calabash in hand, Asaase gave a compelling rendition of touching, witty and sharp poetry as tranquil guitar riffs helped transform the performance into a dramatic blend of poetry and music. 

“Asaase is an astute performer – undeniably, he has a very smart way of entertaining his audience while creating a forum for intellectual encounter and contemplation. We need to support and encourage this style of approach to poetry performance”, said Yaw Owusu, a musician in Accra.

Rendered largely in English and Twi, the audience was treated to thought-provoking by Asaase, whose honesty, humor and story-telling prowess, has won fans across Ghana and parts of Europe. Indeed, his ability to capture the universal truths of a story we all know and love, has endeared him to the hearts of his fans.

Asaase, who aspires to be one of Africa’s greatest literary evidences of the world, has performed to enthusiastic crowds and held workshops and master classes in various parts of Ghana, the United Kingdom and other parts of Africa.   

The performance forms part of monthly acoustic sessions dubbed “Goethe Abansoro”, which offers artists and their audiences a cozy atmosphere on a decorated terrace to interact while enjoying music, poetry or both.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

A compelling duet by Israeli dancers Oded Ronen and Ligal Melamed last week turned the ETS Drama Studio at the University of Ghana (Legon) into a dance groove, where agile bodies freely explored abstract issues and concepts.

Titled “Capsule”, the piece is a philosophical one with the two dancers exhibiting class and craft through restrained and composed movements. Indeed, it encompasses diverse notions including identity, relationships, community and beliefs among others.

With dozens of card boxes strewn across the stage, Ronen and Melamed employed rather sublime and tender body movements while constructing, assembling, destroying and exploring the mythology of relationships.

Interspersed with music by Ronen Kozokaro – arms, torsos, heads, hands and other body parts were constantly in motion. Employing classical virtuosity, they effectively combined contemporary sensibilities while unfolding a fascinating experience characterized by majesty and mystery.

Choreographed by Ronen, “Capsule” is equally about mutual discovery, tenderness and ecstasy that are beautifully articulated through the choreography. Undeniably, a great deal of energy emanated from the stage as the dancers moved with amazing ease from one sequence to the other.

In some instances they pick up the card boxes so gently it feels as if it embodies their soul – and other cases they just shuffle them around and dump them. In the end, they reassemble them in an upright and delicate manner as their bodies interchanged through expressive movements and gestures.

Earlier, choreographers / dancers Kofi Anthonio and Sena Atsugah enchanted the audience with a short piece titled “The Match”. With bodies moving in unison alongside subtle curves and tilts, they unveiled a sleek, compelling and moving piece that is equally visually stimulating.

The pair, who are also academics, vividly showcased the fact that their versatility as performers has grown with smart and unpredictable works in recent times. Indeed, they appeared to be full of freshness, calmness and zeal as they moved from one end of the stage to the other.

Accompanied by a choir from the Music Department, Anthonio and Atsugah, who are with the Department of Dance Studies, wove together an exhilarating order of movements as they exited the stage with grace and composure.

Present at the performance, which forms part of activities marking a project dubbed “Dance Bridges” include HE Shani Cooper Zubeida (Israeli Ambassador in Ghana), Prof. Kofi Agyekum (Dean of the School of Performing Arts) and Dr. Sylvanus Kuwor (Head, Department of Dance Studies).

Israeli Embassy in Accra organized “Dance Bridges”, which also encompassed lectures, workshops, film screenings and master classes in collaboration with the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Legon.

By Dr. Bernard Akoi-Jackson

(In Tamale – Ghana)

The Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) in Tamale is honoured to debut its programming with the exhibition: “Galle Winston Kofi Dawson: In Pursuit of something ‘Beautiful’, perhaps…”.

The exhibition, which opens on Friday March 15, is a retrospective on the work of Ghanaian modernist Kofi Dawson (b. 1940) who coined the term Afro-Journalism to describe his socially committed art practice. “Galle Winston Kofi Dawson: In Pursuit of something ‘Beautiful’, perhaps…” charts the complex trajectory of an artist whose body of works stretches across a multiplicity of forms including serigraphy, etching, wood cut, ink and line drawing, acrylic and oil painting, collage, sculpture and installation.

A potentially turbulent period spanning more than fifty years of incredible dedication to artistic innovation, experimentation and political resolve is encapsulated in the curatorial selection of objects and texts. Whilst the greater portion of the exhibited works is selected from Dawson’s own holdings, a significant number is loaned or borrowed from a fair sampling of his collector base in Ghana.

Kofi Dawson’s multifaceted drawings, paintings, prints and objects, as well as his perplexing texts are saturated archives, which are typical examples of his Afro-Journalism. They become likened to crystalline portents that delicately weave vast realms for curious minds to probe.

In a piece of drawing or painting, we experience a density of hatches, cross-hatches; a skillful configuration of optical space and form. The unsettling straightforwardness of subject matter may sometimes be foiled by witty double takes that offer a visual spectacle as though one is holding up a diamond to the light. The experience is sublime.

Kofi Dawson’s life and work effectively condense an attitude of tenacity characteristic of a modernist ethos and openness to uncertainty that drives contemporary life. Despite his potentially gigantic stature in the Ghanaian context and the fact that he has participated in a tall list of local and international workshops, seminars, residencies and exhibitions across the West African region and elsewhere, Dawson has remained, to quite a large extent, very independent of the international art world.

This can be attributed in part, to the dearth of a robust institutional support system for (Contemporary) art in Ghana, and on the other hand, to his enigmatic disposition in relation to the art world. He participates enthusiastically, even to obsessive levels within the Ghanaian Art scene, attending exhibition openings, contributing work to group exhibitions, facilitating or taking part in workshops. At such events, whether it is an art exhibition, talk or seminar, as an ardent participant, Dawson is constantly making copious notes.

But when it comes to issues of self-promotion or pseudo-artistic posturing, he is extremely distant from the scene. A fair amount of his artistic output has been collected, bought or donated and can be found in a number of notable collections. It is out of this massive legacy that we make humble selections to share with the world.

The SCCA is an artist run project space, exhibition and research hub, cultural repository and artists’ residency. It is an initiative of world-renowned Ghanaian artist, Ibrahim Mahama, as a contribution towards the development and expansion of the contemporary art scene in Ghana. SCCA-Tamale intends, with its diverse programming and research interests, to spotlight significant moments in Ghanaian and international art in a communal space.

Affiliated to blaxTARLINES KUMASI, the Centre is operated by committed, dedicated and generous persons who produce critical discourse that will eventually be disseminated through exhibitions, publications and allied activities. SCCA is dedicated to art and cultural practices, which emerged in the 20th Century and inspire generations of artists and thinkers of the 21st Century and beyond.

Join us on Friday March 15 to celebrate the life and work of Galle Winston Kofi Dawson, a gem of modernist Ghanaian art and probably one of the harbingers of the contemporary ethos.

Dr. Akoi-Jackson is curating the exhibition.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

The colour black – which is often associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, rebellion, aggression and mystery – is at the centre of an ongoing exhibition by Yibor Kojo Yibor at the Goethe-Institut in Accra. 

Black, which is also associated with the unknown, equally has a negative connotation owing to words and expressions like blackmail, blacklist, black holes, black out and black magic. Nevertheless, it is also required for all colours to have depth and variation of hues.

Over forty wooden sculptures by Yibor that are in alterable forms, are painted black and stand upright in a circle at the foyer of the Institut. Interspersed with black rectangular metal cases, which also house three sculptures, they indicate various stages of the life of the artist – birth, adolescence and old age.

Yibor aka Sir Black is obviously infatuated with the colour black – within the circle of sculptures are installations of black personal items spread evenly on black cloth. These include rice, combs, towels, plates, pens, cutlery, brushes, deodorants, and mirrors among others that visually reference his day-to-day life.

Tucked conspicuously in the courtyard is a gigantic wooden frame also covered with black cloth, which houses a black baby cot and an upright standing black coffin set against a rather dark interior thereby creating an uncanny feeling of “presence / absence”, “physical / spiritual” and  “light / darkness”.

The exhibition, which largely comprises works in progress – is characterized by micro stories that are laden with installations. Indeed, they are “ambiguous” and “unambiguous” while posing questions relating to objects and subjects in a performance space.

He hangs a series of mirrors in black wooden frames in varying degrees on walls while glass and metal cases designed like pinhole cameras sit on stools where messages can be read through two little holes or read portions of a book on sale.

Yibor is an artist working across painting, sculpture, installation and spoken word. Using images, text, sounds, and objects, he is interested in exploring the notion of self-examination within three dimensions – “then”, “now” and “after”.

Acclaimed Ghanaian sculptor Kofi Setordji opened the exhibition, which is being supported by the Goethe-Institut. Titled “With.Out / With.In”, it ends on Friday March 29, 2019.

By John Owoo

(In Ouagadougou – Burkina Faso)

“Keteke”, a Ghanaian film directed by Peter Sedufia won the 2^nd Prize for Best Screenplay during a keenly contested competition at the Pan African Film and Television Festival (FESPACO), which ended last Saturday in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The film – which was one of the two productions that opened the festival, featured Adjetey Anang, Lydia Forson, Edwin Acquah and Fred Amugi among others – is an inspiring production that has captured the imagination of viewers through its direction, acting and technical prowess.

Undeniably “Keteke”, which has been equally nominated for diverse awards during screenings in Nigeria, Egypt, Burundi, Morocco, South Africa, London, America, Australia and Scotland is also funny and bursting with colour, appeal and compassion.

Produced by Manaa Abdallah, a lecturer at the National Film and Television Institute in Accra, it features a man and his pregnant wife, who wander on train tracks dotted by lush green forests as they frantically search for a train to convey them to an in-law for a memorable delivery.

They appear to walk “aimlessly” while looking for an elusive train amidst humour, suspense, quarrels, insults, determination, hunger, thirst and practical jokes while vividly expressing fear of the baby arriving before they get to their destination. 

In the long fiction movie category, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga went to “The Mercy of the Jungle” by Rwandan director Joël Karékezi, Silver Stallion of Yennenga was grabbed by “Karma” by Egyptian director Khaled Youssef while the Bronze Stallion of Yennenga went to “Fatwa” by Tunisian director Mahmoud Ben Mahmoud.

Regarding long documentary films, Golden Stallion was won by “The Golden Wolf of Balolé” by Burkinabe director Aïcha Boro, Silver Stallion was taken by “In the Time when the Arabs were Dancing” by Moroccan director Jawad Rhalib while the Bronze Stallion went to “Whispering Truth to Power” by the South African director Shameela Sedat.

Animation films were not left out of the fray – winners include “Briska” by Nadia Rais (Tunisia), “A Kalabanda Eats my Homework” by Raymond Malinga (Uganda) and “Da Tsysy of Tojo” by Niaina Rajaofera (Madagascar). Cameroonian director Jean Pierre Bekolo also won the Sembene Osmane prize from the Ecobank Foundation with his latest film “The Miraculous Weapon”.

Created in 1969, FESPACO offers African film professionals the chance to establish working relationships, exchange ideas and promote their work. It aims at contributing to the expansion and development of African cinema as a means of expression, education and awareness creation.