All Women Workshop Opens In Accra

A TWO-WEEK international workshop, organized by Art in Aktion, for female artists drawn from nine countries in Africa and Europe is currently underway in Kwabenya, a serene neighborhood on the outskirts of Accra.

Dubbed 'International Women Artists Workshop', the project aims at promoting dialogue through the universal language of art that leads to mutual respect and understanding among diverse cultures.

It is also geared towards showcasing the role of female artists and their immense contributions to the development of art throughout the world.

Participants will be encouraged to employ the use of items found in the vicinity of the workshop venue to create aesthetically meaningful and visually stimulating objects that can delight the eyes of art lovers, while also serving as tools for socio-cultural and economic development.

Artists involved in the project, which will also include studio work, creativity, networking, presentations and talksfrom individual artists are Ngozim Omeje (Nigeria), Justine Gaga (Cameroon), Martina Dempf (Germany), Aichatou Dieng (Senegal), Enyo Dakey (Togo), Elizabeth Deddeh (Liberia), Marie Asbjornsen (Norway), Marian Heyerdahl (Italy), Mareille Saris (The Netherlands), Akwele Suma Glory, Dorothy Amenuke and Jennifer Opare-Ankrah (Ghana).

The workshop, which is being held under the theme: “Art Dailies A Creative Rethinking of the Function of Materials”, will also host lectures at the Goethe-Institut in Accra. A number of topics including 'The Survival of Women Artists', 'The Role/Neglect of the Media in Art Promotion' and 'Art:

The European/African Experience' is expected to be delivered by a variety of speakers.

These include the German artist/philosopher Martina Dempf, Canadian art teacher/artist Gillian Eugene Ani, Ghanaian photo journalist Mardey Ohui and Oslo-based painter and sculptor Samuel Olou, who is also the initiator of Art in Aktion.

Founded in 2002 by Samuel Olou, with support from the late anthropologist/conservator Prof. Joe Nkrumah, Art in Aktion has over the years managed to send art directly to the public by organizing workshops at street corners to enable people to witness the act of creating artworks.

Art in Aktion has worked in the areas of environment, pollution, globalization and other tropical issues through lectures, seminars and workshops for artists from numerous African and European countries, thereby stimulating the art scene in Ghana with energy through massive experimentation.

Olou, who has just graduated from the National Art Akademie in Oslo, Norway, has in recent years participated in lectures, conferences, exhibitions and workshops in Korea, Columbia, Algeria, the United Nations and New York University - both in New York, USA.

Works created during the workshop, which is being supported by the Goethe-Institut in Accra, will be showcased at its premises on Tuesday November 10, 2009.