An exhibition of some of Ghana’s finest and oldest Kente fabrics has been held at the Peduase Valley Resort at Aburi in the Eastern Region.
The fabrics are a collection by Amadu Baba, a Ghanaian artifact collector who has been gathering the materials over the past four decades.
Most of the Kente cloths exhibited were over a 100 years old, some of which had been used by famous traditional leaders of the Volta and Ashanti regions.
The event, dubbed, “weaved with love and pride” was held on Saturday, 4th March 2017, as part of series of Ghana at 60-related events organized by the resort.
Roots Hospitality International, managers of the hotel said the theme of the celebration “Weaved with pride & love” was aimed at celebrating the Ghanaian culture by “creating a nostalgic atmosphere to embrace the country’s heritage.”
The Managing director of Peduase Valley resort, Hussein Fakhry, in his address said Ghana must identify key elements of its culture including the Kente and capitalize on them to promote the Ghana brand.
MD, Peduase Valley Resort; Mr Hussein Fakhry
“Today, branding Ghana should be the mission and vision of every one of us, of every entrepreneur, businessman, parent, teacher, doctor, artiste and farmer. This branding can only happen by identifying our strength, then building on through it,” he said.
(R) Amadu Baba
“Ghana’s cultural heritage should be one major element of this exercise which can lead definitely to an environment with identity and character where the returns on all levels are surely significant,” he added.
Curated by Mrs. Rima Fakhry, this is the exhibition is the first of its kind at the 4-star hospitality facility.
Rima Fakhry told citifmonline.com that she believed the Kente pieces were such a national treasure that needed to be exhibited and showed to the public to cherish and admire original Ghanaian arts.
She said it was important for such materials to be preserved as important historical artifacts.
Dignitaries present at the exhibition included the Dean of the School of Information and Communications studies at the University of Ghana, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo; and former Miss Ghana winner, Ina Patty.
The event featured poetry performances from Poetra Ama Asantewaa.
Other activities lined up by the resort to celebrate Ghana’s diamond jubilee included a Kente weaving workshop for interested Ghanaians to try their hands on the craft, and a recreational family event that featured local games such as Oware, Ampe among others.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor
