Creative artists call for support to create jobs 

By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi

Accra, Aug. 25, GNA – Creative artists and producers have called for government’s support to expand their businesses, and create jobs for the youth.

They called for the building of art galleries and exhibition centres, subsidy on imported raw materials and establishment of an Art Endowment Fund to give financial support to the sector. 

They described as unfortunate the lack of deliberate policy and programmes to develop the sector, which they said promised to be a viable tourism game changer.

The artists and producers, who exhibited painted art works at the ongoing 13th edition of the “Chale Wote” Art Festival at the Christianborg Castle, said the sector’s full potential when tapped would generate the needed revenue for the State and spur economic growth.

Ernest Boafo, a 20-year-old visual artist from Accra, who did an art work, called the ‘Resistors Transformation’, which is about how blacks resisted oppressors (whites) in many different ways, said government needed to support budding talents ‘wasting’ away.

“Government should invest more in the creative art industry. We lack art schools and exhibition centres. We need the infrastructure and programmes to turn the sector around for our own benefits,” he said.

The young man said the art galleries and exhibition centres should serve as tourist and recreational sites with regular shows to help resurrect interest in art works amongst the Ghanaian populace. 

Mr Emmanuel Gator, who is into fine arts, told the Ghana News Agency that the sector had been developing at a slow pace, and said actions could be expedited by all stakeholders to make it a major revenue generator in the tourism space. 

“We, as artists want to see more of this exhibition after the festival. We need dedicated channels (TV and Radio and online) specifically designated for the arts and culture to help whip up national interest and create a global market for our products. As we speak, the Ghanaian market for arts is seemingly non-existent,” he observed.

Mr David Nyemah, who has been painting professionally in the last three years, said: “We don’t have the finances to expand, we don’t have access to any soft loans.

“The State cannot leave our sector unattended to. Obviously, we need an Arts Endowment Fund to be properly administrated for the benefits of all,” he added.

Mr Nyemah called on the media to use its power of influence to promote the arts, adding that media channels would help market the sector and the products whilst promoting the Ghanaian culture.

The theme for the 2023 Art Festival is “Magneto Motherland”, which literally means ‘let us go back to our roots and tradition and do things that portray our identity’ . 

GNA

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