By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

Theatre director / academic Abdul Karim Hakib’s stage adaption of a classic Ghanaian film “I Told You So” recently brought a discharge of nostalgic feelings by elderly members of the audience during a splendid performance at the Accra International Conference Centre.

With the cast largely comprising students of the School of performing Arts, University of Ghana (Legon), the play offered a sharp glimpse of life in Ghana in the late 1960s and early 1970s while showcasing the fact that life in the past is palpably and demonstrably present.

A comedy that reveals the travails of a young woman who was compelled to employ riches as a tool for marriage and the consequences that befell the union, the play gradually reveals the travails, disgrace and ridicule the family encountered owing to their inability to effectively verify the background of a so called rwealthy man.

Director Hakib, who uses humour to a fine effect, equally employs singing, dancing, practical proverbs and adages that were in vogue during the period while interspersing the production with highlife, traditional and folk music as well as free style Ghanaian dances of the 1970s.

“It is a story of greed, a sense of self fulfilment in wealth and a false belief that riches is the solution to all problems on earth thereby turning it into a critical element of marriage. I watched this film over thirty five years ago and it has suddenly brought memories of the period – we need more of these historical productions”, said Yaw Adu, a writer in Accra.

The performance was delivered with the lightest of touches as the director adapts an easy conversational tone laced with intense humour while employing a choir to unveil part of the story thereby bringing on stage an atmosphere of a past era in a relaxed and entertaining manner.

Interspersed with music from a palm wine highlife band comprising students and lecturers, the relationship between traditional Ghanaian culture and western pop culture that was equally in vogue in post-independence Ghana, was clearly visible through mannerisms, dressing and social ceremonies.

Undeniably, this stage adaption of “I Told You So” has brought into sharp focus themes in current Ghanaian films with enthusiasts pointing to the style of this film as one of the directions our industry should pursue.

By John Owoo

(On the hills of Dodowa – Ghana)

A dance piece titled “Idioms of Distress, Wellbeing and Resilience” recently enchanted a cheering audience at the Noyam African Dance Institute, which is located on the hills of Dodowa, near Accra.

Directed by Prof. Alison Phipps / Gameli Tordzro and devised by Cynthia Onoma / Akwei Addotey, the young Noyam dancers showcased extraordinary movements that transmitted images of anguish, comfort and resilience among diverse communities.

With references to Akan idioms of expression and funeral rites of the Dangbe District of the Greater Accra region, the artists explored formal dance practises and expressive theatricality as diverse languages including Ga, Adangbe, Twi, Ewe, Shona (Zimbabwe), Lusoga (Uganda), English, French and Arabic flowed from the stage.

Interspersed with imaginative projections of poetry from team members who could not make the trip due to visa difficulties – a situation, which equally befell the dancers on a recent trip to Europe – the artists appeared to perform with blunt, raw and quite engaging honesty.

“I hope that this project continues to inspire these young artists to create, feel empowered and explore their own artistic voice, while highlighting a sense of community and voicing out issues through their agile and talented bodies”, said Joe Attim, a journalist in Accra.

With academic inputs from Professors Kofi Anyidoho / Kofi Agyekum, Ross White, Bella Hoogeveen, Giovanna Fassetta, Nii Tete Yartey and others during the research stage, the piece equally employed the use of Adangbe proverbs, folk tales from the Buganda traditions in Uganda as well as a variety of sounds, which added to the diversity and beauty of the performance.

Alongside refreshing music composed by Gameli Tordzro with inflections of tradition Ugandan music by Roscoe Kasujja / Obed Kasule and costume design by Naa Dansua Tordzro, the piece, which is laced with brilliant multilingual monologues, is an issues driven production that is deeply intensive and focused.

Refreshing solos by Addotey with huge calabashes together with communicative duets and movements in unison turned the performance into a visually stimulating one – indeed, one that would compel those who hate dance to take a new approach.

Undeniably, “Idioms of Distress, Wellbeing and Resilience” is proof that by coming together, we can create our own reality – undeniably, we can build a community wherever we are.

By John Owoo

(National Theatre – Accra)

A classic dance piece titled “MUSU – The Saga of the Slaves”, last week recounted horrid experiences by African slaves at the hands of white slave dealers and their African collaborators in a fast moving, passionate and highly inventive performance.

Co-choreographed by late Prof F. Nii Yartey (Ghana) / Monty Thompson (US Virgin Islands) and performed by the National Dance Company, the piece opens with gestural phrases alongside facial expressions that exude fear, uncertainty, frustration, sorrow and anger.

Directed by Nii Tete Yartey, the performance took the audience deep into history including the Danish involvement, less discussed issues relating to the slave trade debacle and local chiefs in full regalia accepting gifts (bribes) from white raiders in exchange for slaves.

Organized by the National Theatre of Ghana as part of activities marking PANAFEST 2017, the irony of the situation of Africans fighting Africans for slave trophies is vividly revealed through fantastically designed costumes and suggestive movements that interchange in unison with various weapons.

“This is a pure historical production that takes us back in time – we need more of such creations in Ghana. Indeed, our musicians, film makers, choreographers, theatre directors and poets must work with historians in this direction”, said Atta Yaw, a designer in Accra.

Interspersed with music from the Pan African Youth Orchestra, the dancers created emotional conditions within strict forms that are movingly perceptible. In the process, the brutalities, murders and gross inhuman treatment of our forefathers and mothers were relived on stage.

Attempted escapes end in executions while successful escapees commit suicide when recapturing is imminent – indeed, scenes of this nature simply left some members of the audience clutching the sides of their seats while imagining the agony suffered by their ancestors.

With an impressive stage design that comprise a giant stylized baobab tree by David Amoo, the piece, which is laced with traditional Ghanaian movements included clashes that led to frantic and frenetic movements which climaxed the evening in a melodramatic manner.

Earlier the National Drama Company performed an equally traumatizing piece on how the slaves were treated by white slave dealers and their local African accomplices during the long period of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

Ivorian guitarist / composer Constant Boty last week delighted a cheering audience at the Alliance Française in Accra during a magnetic concert that marked 60 years of relations between Ghana and France.

With components of jazz idioms and European classical music alongside rock and diverse African rhythms, Boty thrilled the audience with a succinct style that transcended the usual blend of jazz and world music, which is currently in vogue in many parts of the world.

Undeniably, Boty and his group went into their own world and dished out a brilliant mix of Afro pop and jazz that transmitted a deep cultural dialogue besides a meticulous arrangement, crispy sounds and a cool sonic clarity.

Joined by Ghanaian singer / composer Yasmeen Helwani (The Golden Voice), the group exhibited high energy on stage while stretching its diverse explorations into Afro Pop, Jazz, Classical and traditional African rhythms.

“Boty is an amazing and indeed highly influential songwriter – his background as a classical guitarist has heavily influenced his work – it was a wonderful evening of infectious sounds, rhythms and lovely voices”, said Kofi Mensah, a music enthusiast in Accra.

Earlier, Local Dimension Band led by Aaron Babe surprised the audience with a performance that revealed the beauty, power and diversity of neo traditional Ghanaian and African music with refreshing tunes.

With instruments such as Mbira (Zimbabwe) as well as seperewa, xylophone, prempremsiwa, kpanlogo drums among others, they equally entertained the audience with northern Ghanaian Dagari fusions, Palmwine Highlife, Afro Beat as well as compositions based on Adowa and Kpanlogo rhythms.

Hip Hop / Soul fusion artist K Steez (Coco Stone) opened the concert with issues driven lyrics including “galamsey” (illegal mining) as well as experiences he gathered while living in France, Switzerland, England the United States and other parts of the world.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

An educative play titled “Ten Blocks on the Camino Real” recently enchanted and challenged audiences in various locations in Accra through magnetic performances by the National Drama Company (Abibigromma).

Directed by the American theatre maestro David Kaplan, the production – which is an outdoor one – delighted audiences on street corners, markets and community centres with its message of people taking full charge of their lives and making taking right decisions while planning for their old age.

Originally written in the 1940s by Tennessee Williams, it is interspersed with subtle drumming and xylophones while unveiling a dramatic story of a popular American boxer, who travels to a place known as Camino Rail, meets strange people while experiencing equally abnormal situations, which compelled him to engage in a rather bizarre manner.

“It is an interesting play that engages your mind in various ways – the actors and actresses are truly professional thus they constantly grabbed the attention of the audience. We need more of such performances to educate our people”, said Nii Otto Darko, a primary school teacher during the performance in Teshie, a suburb of Accra.

With scenes revealing visits to fortune tellers and logic defying events, the play equally touched on the complexities of life while calling on the audience to be aware of such possibilities in life and urged them to take charge of their lives and handle such difficulties with utmost care.

Indeed, it is a drama of huge ideas – it reveals the need for logic and rationality as well as events relating to the physical and the supernatural – all presented by powerful acting by experienced actors and actresses including Mawuli Semevo, Abena Takyi, Eldad Womtumi, Yaa Ocloo and Godwin Awador.

“Performing this play on streets and markets is a laudable idea – it is very important to take theatre to people who would normally not be in a position to see shows in a theatre. It is refreshing to see local drums infused into a foreign drama”, added Yaa Pokua, a dancer / choreographer in Accra.

Produced by David Kaplan, the play is scheduled to be performed later this year at the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival in Princetown (New York), United States of America.

“We were not made – only to wash dishes launder clothes, mow lawns…”

These words are recited loudly by a girl still in her teens – her passion for women’s rights and more than an uneducated village life is shining through her speech. It is a poem called “Freedom” written by the Ghanaian author Aba Oppong and forms part of a series of workshops by two Danish volunteers from “100% for the Children”.

Moderated by Camilla Olesen and Kristoffer Bressum, who employed their university background in literature to create a project titled ”Poetic Empowerment: Youth in Dialogue”. It aims at establishing an intercultural exchange between Danish and Ghanaian youth through the use of poetry.

The project involves teaching children how to take notice of themselves by writing literature while encouraging them with the fact that they can learn about other cultures by reading foreign poetry.

During the workshops, participants first get to describe themselves by writing letters to Danish students before using their voice to produce poetry. The workshop places maximum emphasis on creativity emphasize, which is often neglected in education.

“Writing and reading poetry may teach them how to think beyond themselves, but also get to know themselves better – indeed, it has the potential to create independence and expand their consciousness” said Olesen.

With Catholic Action for Street Children, Rural Education for Empowerment Programme as partners and support from Civilsamfund I Udvikling in Denmark, the primary goal of the workshops is to give the young boys and girls tools to use their own voices and become empowered to tell their personal stories through poetry.

“Their poems will be distributed in a poetry collection printed by a Danish university press. The assembled collection will be brought back to the partners as an educational material with a purpose of further using poetry and creative writing to continue the empowerment of young and youthful voices”, added Bressum.

“Poetic Empowerment: Youth in Dialogue 2017” is a project that focuses on character building and intercultural communication between Danish and Ghanaian youth.

The aim is to enhance the youngsters’ awareness and understanding of issues regarding gender, identity and equality through seminar-sessions of reading and discussing poems and novels by Ghanaian and West African authors.

It will focus on how poetry can be creatively used to empower individual and collective voices by also carrying out a workshop in creative writing with a specific goal of making the youth produce a selection of personal material.

African Arts has come a long way from its previously ascribed tribal or primitive perceptions. As narratives continue to change, established and emerging artists from across Africa are very conscious of global affairs.

As interests towards African Arts continues to grow, Lucie Chang Fine Arts and Mwimbi Fine Art Gallery will showcase three young artists from Zimbabwe currently at the forefront in contemporary visual practices entitled “Bridges” from Wednesday July 19.

The three emerging artists from Zimbabwe are Tafadzwa Gwetai, Franklyn Dzingai and Anthony Bumhira. The exhibition will show their latest works, which come in the form paintings and screen prints.

The role played by artists is to partake, create dialogue and initiate conversations pertinent in our times. Although, the artworks in this context are specific to a country and region, the exhibition creates a Bridge for opportunities between Africa and Greater China.

Opportunities to learn, exchange ideas, share experiences and commonalities. Each artist presents us with a Bridge of his own in the form of education, tradition, culture, religion, citizenship, past and present, as they unpack and interrogate these common themes, guests are invited to walk through these Bridges and explore a multitude of lens. Chang Yue Lucie and Lee Garakara are curating the exhibition.

Three emerging artists from Zimbabwe – Tafadazwa Gwetai, Anthony Bumhira and Franklyn Dzingai will be showcasing their works. Tafadzwa Gwetai paints with mediums such as oils, mixed medium and found objects. Gwetai explores the human condition and how mankind has redefined themselves and their basic existence.

He reintroduces and redefines mathematics with science and logic to create a new language – a language that challenges the very core of industry and its relevance to mankind. He views our existence as having been transformed into a virtual reality based paperwork and documentation.

Existentialist philosophy such as that of Rene Descartes and Plato who challenged the existence of man and founded the concept of ‘I think therefore I am’. This influenced his line of thought to that of challenging the purpose and meaning of mankind’s existence. Franklyn Dzingai specialises in printmaking.

He prefers using cardboard for printing relief using the reductive method. Collage and drawing are often incorporated into his prints. His prints are typically vibrant in colour and ornate in design. He sources his images from books, magazines, newspapers and family photos.

Themes such as social interactions and personal memories are found in his prints. Anthony Bumhira, the youngest of the three artists but already has works in the permanent collection of the National gallery of Zimbabwe and around the world.

Exhibition Details

Exhibition Title: Bridges

Venue: Lucie Chang Fine Arts,
No.26 Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Date / Time:
 19/7/2017 – 18/9/2017 (Monday to Sunday 10am – 7pm) 18/7/2017 (Tuesday) 6:00pm

About the Organizers:-


Lucie Chang Fine Arts


Lucie Chang Fine Arts is founded by Lucie Chang, who has a rich background of Chinese contemporary arts within the art market with experience and expertise being transformed into her latest venture, encouraging aesthetic, spiritual, and social dialogues and diversity of art forms and offering a space for contemporary dialogues and social engagement.
Lucie Chang Fine Arts has stable collectors resource; currently the collectors mainly are from Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Beijing, etc. Lucie Chang Fine Arts has good connections with academic institutions and Art centers in Hong Kong, the future exhibition program will cooperate with the Oil Painting Department of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and OCT Shenzhen, Lucie Chang Fine Arts not only pays attention to the continuous art works presentation, but also attaches importance to the exhibitions of which are good curated works, will be valued by academic institutions, art gallery and curators.

Lee Garakara and Mwimbi Fine Art Gallery

Lee Garakara was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. He attended and lectured at the Centre for Visual Arts, University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) from the period 2001 to 2009. After pursuing his post graduate studies, Mwimbi Fine Art Gallery was born out an urge to support the development of African contemporary Arts by realizing projects internationally. Mwimbi Fine Art Gallery is now based Hong Kong and aims to showcase contemporary African art of the highest form possible. By forging cross-cultural ties between Africa and Asia, Mwimbi Fine Art Gallery aims to engage with communities in ways that have yet to b explored. Through collaborations with industry professionals and institutions, Garakara aims to explore the elusive link between contemporary Art, African Art and its wider audience. Garakara is currently serving as curator and advisor for Mwimbi Fine Art Gallery and Mwimbi Consulting Hong Kong.

About the Supporter: Leap Initiative Philanthropies

The exhibition is supported by the Leap Initiative Philanthropies based in Hong Kong. With strategic partnerships and collaborations, the foundation aims to preserve and promote African Arts and culture within and outside Africa. The foundation is a non-profit organization that supports programs focused on emerging artists throughout the continent of Africa, Europe and Asia. As projects are realized, the foundation support structure also comes in the form of much need resources such as expertise, advisory and networking.