Zakaria Abdul Hakim Cisse || Sanatu Zambang
From Friday, September 4, the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) would be opened to the public. The Red Clay Studios will however be opened on the following day, September 5.
This is part of plans for the much-anticipated exhibition that will be taken place at the center and the Red Clay studio as well. The exhibition which will be running until somewhere in March 2021, will see people troop in from all parts of the country and beyond.
Due to COVID-19 directives, attendants have been asked to register via a google form and on Eventbrite. The organizers, however, said they will be live streaming the opening ceremony on September 4 and 5 respectively virtually (Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, etc.) since most people abroad cannot make it due to the pandemic.
Akutia translates literally as sarcasm. In the concept of the art, Akutia is coined to use art to draw humour through poetic and proverbial expressions.
The Akutia art exhibition is a retrospective of the life’s work of Agyeman Osei (Dota). Engrossed in arts, the artiste’s style of work includes translating Akan proverbs, idioms, legends, myths, etc. into paintings, theatre plays, animations, and sculptures.
He literally embeds his thought in these literary arts as a means of communicating.
Explaining on Sanatu Zambang’s Breakfast Live show, Mr. Kwasi stated that one of the reasons for staging this exhibition is to let people understand that art is not obscure and should be understood by people [of all kinds].
Agyemang Osei tries to explain everyday expressions into comprehendible forms through his paintings and other arts. He tells his own life story and experience through art.
While he has been in the industry for a long and has contributed to the industry, he often stays behind the scene. This, Mr. Kwasi, said that Mr. Osei doesn’t believe art is just about selling one’s own works, but telling a story through the works.
Giving the account of translating Akan proverbs into art, one may argue why the exhibition is rather brought to Tamale in the Northern Region. This is what Mr. Kwasi, one of the curators for the exhibition has to say;
“Bringing such an exhibition is not misplaced, since the Akan have a very long relationship with the Dagbamba people. Also, even though it is an Akan tradition he has worked on, Akutia can be translated into al languages – and almost all ethnic groups in Ghana have that form of proverbial and idiomatic expressions in their traditions”.
Mr. Kwasi
The artiste has been working as an educationist most of his life and has taught at both the senior high school level to the tertiary. Until his retirement in 2017, he held the position of Head of the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Ghana.
“Meeting Agyemang Osei is a great opportunity for me. I never heard of him until I was doing my masters. He happened to stage a play at the school of performing arts at the University of Ghana and I was mesmerized by how he handled his storyline, his lighting, background, etc. So sometimes I ask myself if I had met him during my undergraduate studies days” .
Mr. Selorm
To some, this is just the beginning of developing art spaces in Ghana. Perhaps, this exhibition will give Tamale a better phase and of course, realign the thoughts of fine artistes who are based here.
