By
Dennis Osei Gyamfi
Accra, Oct. 13, GNA – Panelists at a public
lecture in Accra, have said, Ghana has over the years underestimated the
essential role of Creative Arts to its development.
The lecture, organised on by Webster
University, Ghana, under the theme; “The role of Creative Arts in Africa’s
Development: The Case of music, film and photography”.
Mr David Dontoh, a veteran actor and television
personality, who was among the speakers, noted that there was a lot that Ghana
could achieve using the Creative Arts industry, but due to the negligence on
the part of governments, the country was not raising adequate revenue.
He said governments had failed over the period
to provide the needed infrastructure and support to artistes in the industry,
which he added has denied the citizens of their “cultural rights.”
“It is our right as citizens to be treated to
our music, our dance and our folklore.
“Everything about ourselves must be first
before anything else, he added.
He said many countries have controlled the
world by selling their ideas and culture through films, which we could also
have done.
“There are so many countries around the world
that are taking closer look and have used the creative arts economically,
politically and socially,” Mr Dontoh said.
According to Mr. Dontoh, “other countries are
using films to sell their ideologies and to control the world in what they call
soft diplomacy today. They make a film and the film goes round the world and by
that they sent have a message to the world telling the world what they can do
or what they have.
“We normally take the industry for granted but
it goes a very long way to really use the arts to not only promote or market
ourselves but to tell the world who we are and what we are. Your identity is
what you sell in your film, if you don’t do that others would sell their
identities to you and they are very powerful,” he added.
Mr Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, veteran highlife and
afro-jazz musician on his part, said music was the best form of entertainment
for the local society and has been part of the people for a long time.
He said music has been an important part of
“our cultural setting and we cannot do without music.”
Mr. Ambolley said music served as a life
lesson by telling people the dos and don’ts of the society.
He said it was unfortunate government’s lack
of interest in providing guidance to the music industry to promote the Ghanaian
culture.
“We are losing our cultural aspect in our
music and the government is not looking at that side and it is affecting the younger
ones who are coming up,” he said.
Mr Ambolley noted that the country has failed
to take advantage of the business aspect of Creative Arts especially in the
music industry, adding that it is having a negative impact on the industry.
“The business aspect must be considered
seriously. Anybody who is in the Creative Arts has to learn the business
aspects, because that is what is going to get you the income.”
Dr Reginald Jackson, an educator and a visual
artist said one culture could impact another depending on how the culture is
depicted or exposed.
He noted that there were so many benefits
Ghana could derive from holding onto its identity and making it strong in the
outside world through Creative Arts.
Mrs Martha Amankwah, Director of Enrollment
Management at Webster University, Ghana said the lecture was organised as part
of the school’s contribution to the development of the society.
She said more of such lectures would be
organised to illicit views from experts in various sectors on how to tackle
certain social issues affecting the country.
Webster University Ghana Campus, was
established in 2013 and have received accreditation from both the National
Accreditation Board and the Higher Learning Commission of the US.
The Ghana Campus is also the first in
sub-Saharan Africa in Webster’s 102-year history.
Webster University, is an American University
based in St. Louis, Missouri, and has a network of American-style residential
international campuses in nine countries spanning over four continents.
GNA