Poet and spoken word artist, Oswald Okaitei
Poet and spoken word artist, Oswald Okaitei has expressed concerns about the future of Ghana's arts industry if it continues to focus on music and movies, neglecting other essential aspects.
Speaking on a live X Spaces dialogue hosted by Graphic Showbiz, Oswald emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to developing the creative sector, including fine arts, comedy, poetry, and literature.
“I think there should be a comprehensive plan to develop Ghana’s arts industry. The truth is that the industry is bigger than musicians or actors. It involves poets, spoken word artistes, comedians, painters, writers/authors, playwrights, fashion, and more.
"But it appears what we call the arts industry is a sham considering that little or no attention is given to other units. The music and movie sectors are the most focused on leaving the rest to their fate, struggling,” he lamented.
Oswald warned that Ghana risks losing the next generation of writers due to insufficient support for creative and literary writers and called for more attention to be given to various creative units.
He also emphasized the importance of government and corporate support for these often overlooked segments of the arts industry.
“Do you know that Ghana may not be able to boast of global recognised authors and writers in the next few years? We may only be stuck to glorifying our ancient literary legends such as Ama Ata Aidoo, Professor Lade Wosornu, Atukwei Okai, among others without caring about a sunrise for another golden generation.
“Yes, there are young literary writers doing well but what deliberate steps are we taking to ensure they fit into the shoes of their predecessors?
"That is the doom ahead of us because there are no structures within the arts industry to make this happen and it is very worrying,” he said.
He also questioned the lack of dedicated efforts within the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture to promote literary arts in Ghana.
Oswald mentioned that while the music and movie sectors continue to enjoy the support of both government and corporate organisations, other creative units including the literary space are struggling to survive.
“Is it not ironical to find foreign nations interested in investing in our literary art? Beyond the media placing calls for reading advocacy, what is government’s deliberate attempt in that direction? Is there any desk at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture for literary art?" Oswald quizzed.
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