The state of once ‘famous’ Arts Centre

The Center for National Culture, simply known as the arts center, is the main tourists haven for Ghanaian culture.

Being the largest open-air craft market in the country, one can find virtually everything that has to do with the Ghanaian culture.

These range from carvings, fabric, beads, African masks, and drums among others. The arts center has positioned itself as the must visit destination for tourists who need souvenirs to tell the African story.

With this important role, the expectation is that business would be a brisk activity here. But a visit to the place shows the exact opposite. The proliferation of Chinese artifacts on the Ghanaian market is adversely affecting the business and tourism potential of the Centre for National Culture in Accra.

Traders who have been selling there for the past ten years lament they are making huge losses because their wares are now competing with cheap Chinese imports.

They claim for weeks, most of them go home empty handed because of poor sales.

They are also not happy about the poor publicity given to the place as they claim some Ghanaians do not even know the existence of the arts center. Interestingly, some foreigners say they were introduced to the place by fellow foreigners and not Ghanaians.

As if going home without sales is not enough, the traders also have to grapple with the poor state of infrastructure. The arts center is under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.

It is the hope that attention will be paid to the arts center for it to effectively play its role in the tourism industry.