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Dikan, a visual education center\u00a0has opened in Accra to offer acomprehensive appreciation and education on visual arts\u00a0for photographers,\u00a0videographers,\u00a0 and others\u00a0in the creative industrywho want to tell impactful stories.\u00a0The\u00a0Center\u00a0boasts of a\u00a0librarystocked with over 30,000 books\u00a0on photography;\u00a0galleries\u00a0for exhibitions;\u00a0classrooms\u00a0for learning and development; and\u00a0photo\u00a0studios.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking at the\u00a0opening\u00a0event\u00a0in Accra, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dikan,\u00a0Paul Ampofo Ninson,\u00a0said\u00a0Dikan which means to take the lead in local Twi language\u00a0is dedicated\u00a0to\u00a0providing a deep sense of appreciation and understanding of the contributions and importance of\u00a0visual education.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn offering this broad range of support and services towards visual education, we looked at the\u00a0end-to-end\u00a0processes\u00a0and how we could create a better experience. As an example, we established a\u00a0Story Lab, an interdisciplinary research\u00a0supportthat\u00a0we hope will\u00a0contribute to exploring\u00a0immersive storytelling\u00a0using\u00a0diverse voices and perspectives\u201d, said\u00a0Ninson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul,\u00a0a renowned\u00a0photographer,\u00a0and filmmaker\u00a0who trained at the School of International Center of Photography in New York,\u00a0said\u00a0the multiple galleries\u00a0at\u00a0Dikan will curate exhibitions on the works of various African and Diaspora photographers while the\u00a0classrooms\u00a0will\u00a0offer accessible workshops and fellowship that advance training of photographers and filmmakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During a tour of the facility, he said the\u00a0extensive\u00a0collection of books\u00a0on\u00a0photography in the library included\u00a0dedicated shelves on Africa and\u00a0people of\u00a0African descents.<\/p>\n
In his remarks,\u00a0the Head of George Padmore Library on African Affairs, Simon Teye,\u00a0lauded the initiative and urged Dikan and\u00a0other\u00a0private libraries\u00a0to\u00a0collaborate with the\u00a0Ghana Library Authority\u00a0to\u00a0digitize and offer resources across the\u00a0continent.<\/p>\n
“We can\u00a0create\u00a0a\u00a0digitized\u00a0union catalogue which would make it possible for\u00a0all African\u00a0readers, academics\u00a0and researchers\u00a0to access the bibliographies on all the resources available\u00a0at\u00a0both the Ghana Library Authority and\u00a0Dikan Center online,” he stated.<\/p>\n
The founder of Humans of New York Blog,\u00a0Brandon Stanton, who raised\u00a0funds for the establishment of Dikan, was happy the facility would benefit many\u00a0including people beyond Ghana.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The former\u00a0Minister for Education and the\u00a0Vice-Presidentialcandidate of the National Democratic\u00a0Congress\u00a0(NDC).\u00a0Pro f. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, who\u00a0was the special guest of honour, encouraged\u00a0Dikan\u00a0to work with other\u00a0galleries,\u00a0African\u00a0photo graphers,\u00a0and subject-experts across\u00a0the\u00a0continent\u00a0to tell Africa\u2019s stories\u00a0including running a series of exhibitions on things\u00a0distinctive\u00a0to Africa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She commended\u00a0the Founder,\u00a0Paul\u00a0Ninson,\u00a0for\u00a0crea ting an opportunity for\u00a0young people to train and\u00a0showcase their creative\u00a0talents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have given our country something to be proud of. You have provided an opportunity for our youth to\u00a0train, earn a living and\u00a0showcase their creative\u00a0talents\u201d,\u00a0said Prof.\u00a0Opoku-Agyemang.<\/p>\n
The founder of Dikan, Paul\u00a0Ninson,\u00a0conceptualized the idea of\u00a0a visual education center\u00a0during his studies\u00a0at the\u00a0School of International Center of Photography in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The library started with\u00a0his\u00a0private collection.\u00a0He invested his income and savings in\u00a0collecting\u00a0books on photography and filmmaking, hoping to bridge the gap between both the unavailability and inaccessibility of such books in Africa.\u00a0The International Center of Photography and the Howard Greenberg Gallery also donated other books.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After years of investing and collecting books in New York and other libraries across the world, Paul returned to Ghana in 2021 to start\u00a0Dikan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the short-term Paul hopes to secure and make other visual instructional materials accessible both online and offline by securing iPads, and laptops at the Dikan library.<\/p>\n
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