Supporting artworks can boost Ghana’s non-traditional export - GEPA

Samuel Dentu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Ghana Export Promotion Agency (GEPA), says giving adequate support for artworks can boost the non-traditional exports of the country.

He said the art also needed a level of support other traditional and non-traditional exports had enjoyed to harness the sector’s potential and generate revenue.

Mr Dentu said this during the 4th edition of the Sound Out Homecoming Art Expo, held at the Ghana Science and Technology Museum in Accra.

He said Ghana’s artists had been among the best on the African continent and with financial, technical and marketing support from the government and corporate organisations, the artists could provide products that could be exported to other countries to generate foreign exchange.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Dentu said: “If we are able to expose our artists to the world, we stand to rake in a lot of foreign exchange for the country, which is essentially the mandate of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority.” 

During the event Ghanaian artists showcased their works and interacted with industry players at the Expo to learn about the inspiration behind many artworks and the visual message being communicated.

The artworks relished many situations, personalities, and symbols as the guests asked a series of questions and made purchases.

Mr. Amarkine Amartefio, an artist, commended GEPA for organising the Expo, adding that it afforded them an opportunity to turn their experiences of the world into a “brain-bursting moment."

He said all the art works on display represented how artists viewed the world and wanted society to reconsider and reimagine them into reality.

GEPA, in its 2021 report, indicated that the industrial arts and crafts, which included textiles and garments, were still contributing two percent of Ghana’s non-traditional exports, although the sector employed a huge number of youth.