Some members of the diaspora community at the 2023 Chale Wote Art Festival have relished the indigenous display of aesthetic artwork, saying the paintings evoke emotional feelings of black identity.
They said the works offered a bridge between the past and the future of the African culture, values and traditions.
Miss Simone Fields, an Attorney from Maryland, USA, said she loved the different mediums (clay, wood, fabric, charcoal etc.) of the artworks, which talked about ‘our ancestral connection and heritage’.
‘The guy, who used fire to create his piece is absolutely breathtaking and the one, who used the mixed medium to create his sculptures is superb. I love the other artist, who created a traditional setting with queen mothers talking about the strength of a black woman,’ she said.
Miss Fields said: ‘We do see these artworks in America, but a lot of them are European based. You have to go the extra mile to find things that are different, things that actually speak to your own people. It is hard to find. So, coming here and being surrounded by the beauty of blackness is amazing.’
She told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that there was nothing like being in Accra to experience Chale Wote, adding that she was fond of the Ghanaian culture of hard work and respect for one another.
‘There’s a level of respect and love that you see. They take pride in what they do and those are the things that I feel like we are losing in America. We don’t have the work ethic, we don’t have that respect for ourselves on that large scale,’ the Maryland Attorney said.
Mr Carlton Wilkinson, a visual artist from Nashville, Tennessee, USA, who brought his works to inspire and collaborate with the local artists was full of praise for the volume of indigenous artworks exhibited and the artistry skills put into the works.
As a Pan-Africanist and a lecturer, he called for regular exhibitions of arts to promote local tourism, saying: ‘I painted a Christ-like black figure, a revolutionary, who laboured for black people, fought against oppression and injustice. Let’s all pay homage to our ancestors through the artworks.’
Madman Alexcia Plumber, a resident of Louisiana, USA, told the GNA that the colour black resonated with her and was happy that the artworks talked about the diverse characteristics of the black race with qualities that made them one people.
Source: Ghana News Agency