Tourism Minister lauds AMA boss for promoting public arts

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, has commended the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for their efforts towards making Accra a liveable city through the beautification of open spaces with public arts.

According to him, the Assembly had been instrumental in the promotion of Arts in Ghana via public arts and that their immense support over the years cannot go unnoticed and deserves tons of commendation for their bold initiative.

The Minister said this in a speech read on his behalf by the Director of Arts and Culture, Josephine Ohene-Osei, on Thursday at the 6th edition of the "World Arts Day" celebration in Ghana under the theme "Re-imagining Ghana's future creatively" held on Thursday at for the forecourt of the Accra City Hall.

"I would like to commend the AMA led by Hon. Adjei Sowah for the partnership with the Ghana Association of Visual Artists (GAVA), Ghana Graffiti, VASEP, and Ulti-Leaf Foundation for the celebration of the 6th World Arts Day... The Assembly has been instrumental in the promotion of Arts in Ghana via public arts... They deserve tons of commendation for their bold initiative and I urge them to keep up the good work," he said.

The Minister extended an invitation to artists for their inputs and support in the mandate of his Ministry which was to ensure that their sector makes the necessary impact in Ghana and beyond.

The Metropolitan Executive of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah in a remark said the Assembly’s keen interest in promoting arts in the city was to allow the young artist to exhibit their talent, adding that the general perception that visual art is a course for students who perform poorly in school must be changed.

He pointed out that he was encouraged by the resilience and aggressiveness of young artists to support arts in the city and believes that art could contribute significantly to the country’s economy when promoted as a professional career.

Madam Janet Edna Nyame, Executive Director of the National Commission on Culture (NCC), congratulated the organizers of the programme adding that the initiative was a unique opportunity afforded artists to display their work for appreciation.

She also opined that enhancing arts and the work of artists would benefit the public and therefore must always be encouraged.

President of the Ghana Association of Visual Artists, Nana Otuo Otuoahene Acheampong appealed to the government to invest more in the arts and culture industry and mainstream the discipline into national development to reap its economic benefits.

The representative of UNESCO to Ghana, Abdourahamane Diallo, also commended Ghana for signing the UNESCO Conventions of Culture aimed at protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions.

“Through this historic agreement, the global community formally recognise the dual nature, both cultural and economic, of contemporary cultural expressions produced by artists and cultural professionals”, he said.