People of 2016: Part 4

People of 2016: Part 4

 

This is the final list of People of 2016 which we started last week. The list is to celebrate and highlight the works of individuals and organizations whose work had influenced people and the society at large in 2016. The previous list (1-3) is available on the blog. The list in in no particular order of importance.
 

READERS OF CULARTBLOG

When I started this blog some two years ago, it was based on two reasons. First, help document the various happenings on the entertainment scene in Ghana for the present and future. Second, was to create an outlet to vent and share my views on developments on the art scene in Ghana. Attracting readership to the blog was not too much of a concern. Over time, the readers came visiting the blog. Though, I’d have wished to see more hits on stories I publish, the numbers are however, gratifying nonetheless. The readers are the reason I have continued curating this blog. I have, on few occasions, come close to shutting the blog down due to some frustrating moments. However, the positive comments from my readers were enough motivation to continue with it. Writing for this blog has also brought in its own benefits-not monetary sadly. It has opened doors to meeting some very important people, with some becoming good friends. I would like to say big thank you to all who, over these years, have been checking out this blog. To @njbraso @shakesduncan @akyempo @ozionn @poetyk_prynx @amegaxi @mansah_hakeem thank you.  Special thanks to @elidot @dzyadzorm @poetraasantewa @msanarfi @joey_chase @readjerome @truecoaster @larryChaste @teamteasers @sugahunyicetea @elorm_tyres for your support and encouragement and thoughtful feedback on how to get better. Also, to the hundreds of people who take time out of their schedule to visit the blog, comment, like and share the links. I’m hugely indebted to you all. To my co-writers @mannyfbc and @forksafo, you guys have been superb.  Thanks to @gameli (E-Newsgh and Hamza Moshood for being there since it began. You the readers, are the real MVPs.
 

AFRICA FILM SOCIETY

If you are passionate about something, you don’t just talk about it. You step out and do something about it. This line of thought is one the African Film Society gave meaning to in 2016. In October, the African Film Society, led by rapper and film maker Blitz The Ambassador- commenced the ‘Classics In The Park’ series. The initiative is simple: screen classic (old) Ghanaian movies to an audience in an open venue (a park) each month, for free.  African Film Society ‘seeks to preserve and promote Africa’s rich cinematic legacy while cultivating new filmmakers and nurturing an audience for their work’.  It is gratifying to know that, a group of individuals are trying to rekindle and fire up our (the youths) imagination and afford us a sense of nostalgia of the good old days- the amazing works done by filmmakers of the 50s through to the 80s- when, despite the limited resources, produced movies that are better than what we see today. For taking the step of curating and sharing the wonders of African films, the African Film Society deserves much applause and support.
 

AKUA AKYAA NKRUMAH

Anybody who has dedicated themselves to protecting the environment deserves to be celebrated. One individual who has chosen this path, contributing to making the environment clean and in the process helping cause a behavioural change is none other than Akua Akyaa Nkrumah. The self-acclaimed ‘Borla Woman’ (borla means refuse), runs a waste management company giving her a precious insight into the bigger issue of sanitation and environmental pollution. Through her various imprints such as @GreenGhanaian @JekoraGH and @EcoPlannersGh, she has been organizing and coordinating programmes, along with volunteers, such as cleaning up the beaches of Ghana and embarking on educative campaigns across selected communities across the ten regions of Ghana. With the issue of Climate Change and the need to protect the environment becoming a global concern, Akyaa’s work deserves mention. Imagine what more she can achieve if she get the necessary support-whatever form it comes-to intensify her campaigns for a better future for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. Saving the environment should be everyone’s concern and she believes enforcing the bye-laws on sanitation must be a starting point. Akyaa is showing the path. She deserves our help, support and applauds.
 

 

ACCRADOTALT

  AccradotAlt has become the nerve centre for the revival of Accra’s arts and cultural scene. Thanks to events such as the ever growing Chalewote Festival; an annual convergence of Ghana’s creative minds and arts enthusiasts in one place; Sabolai Radio (which came off in December) as well as the Talk Parties-where conversations about the arts takes place, ADA has pinned itself into the country’s arts resurgence movement. The hard work of founders Mantse Aryeequaye and Dr. Sionne Nealy and their crew, have created events that Ghanaians look forward to each year. Whiles Chalewote showcases the diverse artforms existing in the country, Sabolai Radio is a platform to promote alternative music- non-mainstream artists get the chance to sell their music to a new audience. The commitment of ADA towards the promotion of the arts albeit off very limited resources, proves that, there is a hunger for the arts. The level of commitment and the successes being chalked by ADA is worth acknowledging and celebrated.
 

CORNFIELDS IN ACCRA ORGANIZERS

In July, the blaxTARLINES, Kumasi and the Department of Painting and Sculpture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), organized a month long exhibition dubbed ‘Cornfields In Accra’. The exhibition featured amazing works of final year students of the Painting and Sculpture department of KNUST as well as selected participants; including past students of the department. From elaborately made glass works, sculptures, painting and installations  on a myriad themes, those who visited the exhibition came out of the Museum of Science and Technology spellbound and intrigued. What made this exhibition a laudable one was the number of exhibitors involved as well as the fact that, this was the first time such an event has been held by KNUST in Accra. Not only did the exhibition expose the creativity of these students, it was a further proof of the value of arts, contributing to that ‘arts is the future’ dream. I don’t know if this would become an annual event (though I pray it becomes) since it is inspiring and helps demystify the notion that arts is not necessary to our national development.