Ghana


 * Ghana **

**Introduction ** Ghana is located in West Africa. Accra is the capital of Ghana. The estimated population is 24,233,431 as of 2010. The official language is English and they have a parliament government. It’s one of the largest cocoa producers in the world. “The adult literacy rate in Ghana was 65% in 2007, with males at 71.7% and females at 58.3%.” “Ghana has 21,530 primary schools, 8,850 junior secondary schools, 900 senior secondary schools, 52 public training colleges, 5 private training colleges, 5 polytechnical institutions, 4 non-university public tertiary institutions, 8 public universities and over 45 private tertiary institutions.” (Tertiary institutions are post-secondary.)

**Kwadwo Ani ** Ghanaian accomplished artist //“Art is important because in everything is art. People feel it is only we, the artists, who can see it, but really, art is everywhere. The way we eat, the way we walk, the way we communicated with eachother, it's all art." //

Kwadwo Ani is a contemporary artist Ghana. He was born in March of 1966. He didn’t have a very steady childhood, and was bounced around different houses of his immediate family. At age 12, Ani was working with his father in the family business and there wasn’t much hope he would ever go to art school.

In 1988, when Ani was 22, his mother convinced him to enroll in art school. She “encouraged her son to pursue his artistic gifts.” She said that art first came to him when he was four years old. He colored everything in the house with chalk and she “knew he had art in him.” He enrolled in OpportunityIndustrialization Center.

After two years, he attended Ghanatta College of Art on scholarship. He achieved an art diploma in 1993. In 1995, he decided to continue with his education. He enrolled at Ankle College of Art. Both of these Colleges were in Ghana. He obtained a practical painting diploma from Ankle College of Art.



Ani wants to provide and prove lessons to society through his art. He focuses on “lifestyle choices or social and political issues.” He uses simplistic forms to make sure that his meanings get across and his artwork doesn’t overpower. He believes that the lessons are more important than the art itself.

Ani uses characters that look “childlike but never childish.” He “potrays the world around him through big, wide open eyes, with honestly and sincerity that only a naïve child possesses.” Through his work, observers can see their faults. Although these observers recognize their faults, Ani’s style amuses them He uses humor so there is no offense, but rather laughter and sometimes fear.

For Ghana’s fiftieth anniversary of independence, he offered a series of paintings reflecting the history of Ghana His work is held at Alliance Francaise, Ghana; Ghana Broadcasting Corporations; and the Ministry of Culture of China.

**Cross Cultural Collaborative **Ghanaian arts organization <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The vision of Cross Cultural Collaborative is “to place people from different life experiences in an environment where they can exchange ideas and find universal connections.” Cross Cultural Collaborative is a non-profit educational organization that promotes different forms of creativity. They bring artists from all over the world together to speak the language of art. The interaction of African and non-African artists interacting is beneficial for both groups. These artists brought together work on collaborative projects. Cross Cultural Collaborative offers many different opportunities and workshops for students and the entire community. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Click here to see multiple videos of workshops offered.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">They offer an independent study program. For this program, travelers can rent a room and work space to work on an individual project with the help of the multiple artists.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">An African textile workshop is offered every August. Through this workshop individuals focus on indigenous textile artisans. These workshops offers multiple different types of projects.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">A program called Indigenous African Inspiration allows individuals to come paint a wall in the village with Ghanaian women. They focus on decorative designs and traditional and contemporary African potters. This program offers workshops every July.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Teacher workshops are also offered. Through these teacher workshops, artists visit schools and meet with people from the Ministry of Education. These artists help write curriculum integrating arts into the education. Workshops are held in Accra, Ghana.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">There are also tours and volunteer opportunities offered through this organization. Volunteers can share their skills with neighborhood children, encouraging creativity growth. Through tours, tourists explore the cultures and historical interests of Ghana.

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The cultural center for this organization is the Aba House, which is also a learning opportunity for students. The Aba House is located in Nungua, Ghana. It “helps local children to develop their creativity by teaching how to use tools for expanding their imagination and craftsmanship.” It provides and supports students with school materials and other life necessities. The artists that are brought together, along with volunteers, teach the children how to communicate through the language of art. These artists and volunteers also provide a supportive environment that the student may not receive anywhere else.

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**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 29px;">School Arts Programs ** <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">  <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Arts education seemed to be an important part <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">of the Ghanaian educational system. Ghana is a "6, 3, 3, 4 model." Visual art is commonly integrated into Ghana's educational system. They require 6 years of arts education for primary school, 3 years for junior secondary, 3 years for senior secondary and 4 years post-secondary. <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">The Ministry of Education is in charge of setting standards of curriculum, the preparation of visual arts, providing funds for the materials of visual arts and preparing teachers. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Both visual and performing arts courses are offered for students at these levels. Some courses includes:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Basketry
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Beadworking
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Gourd/Calabash work
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Leatherwork
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Graphic Design
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Picture Making
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Paper Craft
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Sculpture
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Pottery/Ceramics
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Textile

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Students are assessed on their knowledge and understanding, application of knowledge, and practical skills.The Ghana culture believes that visual arts are important the creativity can be fostered. They believe that they need creative people in the society to be able to solve issues.

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 29px;">Conclusion ** <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 13pt; text-align: center;">The experiences of Ghana education are similar and different from my own in Michigan in the United States. Ghanaian students are required the core subjects, such as math, language, sciences and social studies. During their school years, Ghanaian students are required to enroll and complete in arts education courses. Throughout my education, I was required to take arts classes as well. Throughout elementary, I went to art class once a week. I also had requirements I had to meet in middle and high school. The difference is that I did not HAVE to take an arts course each year. I ended up taking some sort of arts education course each school year, but was not required too. Also, arts was integrated into my education. Arts is also integrated into the Ghana curriculum, relating to my education I received. I was surprised to find that Ghana's education was so revolved around arts. When I think of Ghana, I imagine a lot of poverty. I would imagine their education focusing more on core subjects than art. To my surprise, they believe the arts are very important to education. When students receive arts education, their creativity sores. Creative people will help shape their country by solving important issues within society. Ghana values art and believes it is very important to education.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">http://www.culturalcollaborative.org/home.htm <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://www.kwadwoani.com/index.html <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwadwo_Ani <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/19768/10819715533baffoe.pdf/baffoe.pdf <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Sources: **