Story Zakaria Abdul Hakim Cisse || Sanatu Zambang
In a demoralizing ecosystem where artistes have to swim all by themselves offshore, one person has been and is trying to change the narrative.
Haven founded the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) and the Redclay respectively, Ibrahim Mahama is still poised to developing art in the country.
The renowned Ghanaian artiste has since the opening of the SCCA, held two art exhibitions there, with the first centered on the works of Kofi Dawson and the current Akutia retrospective exhibition of Dr. Agyeman Ossei’s works.
The lecture which took place last night at his newly rediscovered Nkrumah Silo (Nkrumah Voli) will be a series of presentations given by people who are doing amazing things in their respective fields. Yesterday’s presentation of Ibrahim was on the theme “finding memories within the void”
Selorm Akujie, who works with the center, welcomed the audience and gave them an overview of SCCA and the works they have been doing over the past years.
Dr. Bernard Jackson, who is also an artist, engaged the audience briefly on the need to save art spaces and legacies lived behind by visionaries.
Ibrahim said he hopes to build a future from the history left behind by people who had a great vision about society. He believes our past if brought to this present day, can give us an opportunity to redirect our future to an amazing experience.
As a creative artist, Ibrahim Mahama did not leave out the fact that the way we think affects how we do things. This he said that, by his weird imaginations, he hopes to bring those abstract thoughts to life in his works.
An outstanding thing that caught the attention of the audience was how the artist was able to connect historical sites from the colonial to the postcolonial period up to present-day Ghana.
Ibrahim noted that even though he has bought the Nkrumah Silo, he won’t be using it as a silo anymore, but he will try as much as possible to make it a place where artistic materials, archives of archeological, scientific, and industrial remains can be preserved. He also intends to open space there to grow some economically important plants there and also build an aquarium and a relaxation garden in it.
He believes that the myths surrounding the Nkrumah Voli, allow us to imagine the forces of nature so well.
Through his presentation, Ibrahim disclosed how he wants to connect the dots between the past and the present contemporary world. This he said enables us to freeze time and experience how the transitioning of the world occurs in this fast-growing generation.
The renowned Ghanaian artist was able to present some of his works which were done both at the local and international levels and their impact on society and connection with the past.
In a jiffy, the audience was able to understand the labor the artist puts into his works and one fascinating thing was how they were able to transport the aircraft all the way from the capital to Tamale.
His two art spaces so far have caught the attention of people to art and he wants to expand it more and give the younger generation a chance he never got.
Some of the participants after his talk asked questions and gave impressive suggestions as well.
The event saw a massive attendance amidst the short note invitation.
More of such events will be happening soon at the SCCA and Redclay
