Ms Dzifa Gomashie
Ms Dzifa Gomashie, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts has appealed to the public to support creative artist by patronizing their works to promote domestic tourism.
She said the patronage of these art forms has been low throughout the generations; rather it is foreigners, who visit the country that normally buy them.
Ms Gomashie was speaking on the sideline of a month-long arts exhibition held at the World Bank to showcase the drawings and paintings of Mr Louis Kodzo Ankrah.
Mr Ankrah, is an Aflao based artist, skilled in variety of art works such as painting of different forms including realism, abstract and pallet knife.
The Minister, who arranged the exhibition for the artist, said the Ministry believes in giving them the opportunity to showcase their talent.
“His arts are extraordinary and he only needs an exposure to enable him interact with industry players to promote his works,” she added.
She said the Ministry of Tourism has leverage a fair playing ground, where artists could engage the Ministry and take advantage of some of the strategic interventions developed for them.
She, therefore, called on artists to invest in their products and brand them to meet the international standards.
She said the Ministry has also developed a platform called ‘Gift of the Season’, where these artists have the opportunity to showcase their wares to corporate Ghana in order to promote tourism and creative arts in the country.
She said government was committed to support and reposition the Creative Arts sector as a frontline contributor of economic growth.
Mr Ankrah said, he started art work at the age of six with his late father, who himself was an artist.
He said as an artist, he drew inspiration from the daily realities of life, adding that, he sometimes dreams, which he uses for the drawing.
He said the greatest challenge in the industry was how to market their products both locally and internationally.
Aside, holding exhibitions at Novotel Hotel, now Accra City Centre and the World Bank, art work has also taken Mr Ankrah to many French speaking countries like Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast.
