Tag: Ama Ata Aidoo
The Art of AMA ATA AIDOO: Documentary Film Launch
The Art of AMA ATA AIDOO: Documentary Film Launch
Once I became aware of myself, it occurred to me that maybe I should add to the world’s store of stories.
-Ama Ata Aidoo
On 17th September, The African Women’s Development Fund launched The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo, a documentary on the life and work of critically acclaimed Ghanaian author, Ama Ata Aidoo, at the British Council in Accra. The documentary was directed and produced by Yaba Badoe and co-produced by Amina Mama for Fadoa Films. AWDF contributed 40% funding for the project with the remaining 60% accumulated through crowdsourcing on IndieGogo.
AWDF CEO, Theo Sowa, introduced the documentary and its protagonist with these words: “Here we celebrate one of our icons – an African leader who pushes for social justice and change. She has done so much for all of us. She’s marked by a love for her people today and forever. Using an evocative and magical medium, Yaba and Amina have helped us to understand this phenomenon in our world. She is representative of African women who are strong, agile, and flexible and have been leaders on our continent for ages. Her words will continue as a model for younger generations.”
Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo
Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy, who served as a member of the film’s Advisory Committee, also offered opening remarks. She humored the audience with her personal insights of the writer, describing her ‘feisty’ character, praising her rare ability to reflect critical questions in her characters, and her adeptness at baking pineapple pie. As Sutherland-Addy mused, “This film plunges us deep into Ama Ata Aidoo’s world. She is a playwright, essayist, poet, novelist, short story writer, academic and politically conscious intellectual. What force caused such a person to emerge in our literary scene?” She highlighted the need for women’s stories to be told and encouraged events such as these to promote the visibility of African women.
Prof. Esi Sutherland Addy’s opening remarks
Kinna Likimani, Ama Ata Aidoo’s daughter, spoke on her mother’s behalf stating how “increasingly pensive and nervous she became as we were getting closer to this day. She kept saying, there’s so much exposure!” Kinna revealed that three books had been written about Aidoo’s life detailing that this was a great accomplishment preceding the documentary. Kinna shared, “She has labored to write while being an African woman – also mother, grandmother, daughter, caregiver, teacher and philanthropist. She struggles to be appreciative of what she’s done, mournful about the books she hasn’t written.”
Kinna explained that, “growing up, no one in her life discouraged her from writing.” In fact, Aidoo was supported by anchors from her early days in Abeadzi Kyiakor to her studies at Wesley Girls [where a teacher gave her a typewriter] and the University of Ghana-Legon, teaching at the University of Cape Coast and working within an evolving sisterhood of African women writers. Kinna continued, “her life is situated within a community of women writers, academics and filmmakers. In many ways, this documentary is a coming together of African women creators.”
Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo and Kinna Likimani
In the film, Aidoo’s writing journey is documented through snippets of her life history. She reads excerpts from a diverse archive including Dilemma of a Ghost (1965), Our Sister Killjoy (1977) and Changes: A Love Story (1991). This adds a serene pace to the tone of the documentary. The film portrays her relationship with mentor Efua Sutherland and fellow writers Mariama Ba and Buchi Emecheta, among others.
Aidoo’s story takes the audience on her journey from start to finish. The film also illustrates how Aidoo’s love of storytelling came from her mother who would share stories in the early hours of the morning. An insistence on showing her hometown gave the audience a better insight into the early days of her life there as daughter of a chief and part of the royal family. Aidoo explains the Fante folktale culture of her childhood, giving the audience an opportunity to witness a story being performed live with music and dance.
Her ability as a writer to develop complex characters that signal the demands of social life is matched by a close attention to the contradictions within relationships. As Aidoo muses in the film, “Ghanaians have always been nervous about the presence of people from the diaspora here. This is in part because they remind us of what we don’t want to deal with. In the wake of the slave trade, we ourselves were colonized. We were conquered and we have not really dealt with the implications of colonization…So the relationship between us and the African diaspora is charged.”
Her literary diversity is further highlighted in the range of stories she tells. The stories are timeless in the sense that the characters and attitudes portrayed are still very much relevant today as is evident in No Sweetness Here (1970). Aidoo is also a strong believer in the capacity of African communities to solve problems experienced. She uses literature to encourage her audience to consider social issues more seriously.
A Q+A followed with the filmmakers and Aidoo providing greater insights into her personality and range of work. As Ghana’s Minister of Education from 1983-84, she encouraged the recruitment and development of women teachers. Aidoo shared that this is the accomplishment she was most proud of during her tenure. Ultimately, the author left this position because writing is and has always been her calling. The scene that stood out most in the film was how speechless Aidoo was by the crowd’s reaction at the close of Anowa, performed by theater students from the University of California, Santa Barbara. The performance of Aidoo’s work by these students translates the vast impact of her work not only for Literature but also for Theater and Performance Studies. There is also a deep sense that Aidoo is impacted by the influence her work has achieved among fellow writers and admirers.
Open forum with Yaba Badoe, Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo, Prof. Esi Sutherland Addy and Amina Mama
Ama Ata Aidoo discussed her own struggle with publishers and the lack of support in the publishing world for African writers, particularly African women writers. She highlighted that this was now changing with the success of writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This conversation sparked a fundraising call to boost AWDF’s support of women organizations in Art, Culture and Sports. DVDs of the film were then auctioned and pledges were made by multiple audience members, totaling more than 11,000GHC.
Abigail Burgesson auctioning copies of the Documentary
The filmmakers also discussed the challenges experienced making The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo over the last three years. Yaba Badoe and Amina Mama gave greater perspective on the process of creating a documentary and encouraged more women to get into the filmmaking practice by portraying the affirming aspects of African cultures. Amina Mama detailed, “Many people outside of the continent are only interested in Africans suffering. We did experience difficulty in mobilizing resources for the film. But we can never let money detain us because we have great things to do. This film is a movement and it built its own community.”
By Shakira Chambas and Sionne Neely
Photos by Seth Adu-Amankwah
Podcast: Yewande Omotoso with Ama Ata Aidoo
Podcast: Yewande Omotoso with Ama Ata Aidoo
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]On International Women’s Day this year, the writer Yewande Omotoso led a writer’s masterclass at AWDF House with internationally acclaimed writer Ama Ata Aidoo as our special guest. Using excerpts from Ama’s talk with the participants, Yewande has created this podcast which we love and is a useful resource for writers and creative people everywhere.[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Lors de la Journée internationale de la femme cette année, l’écrivain Yewande Omotoso a dirigé la masterclass d’écriture à la Maison AWDF avec l’écrivain de renommée internationale Ama Ata Aidoo qui était notre invitée spéciale. En utilisant des extraits de discours de Ama avec les participants, Yewande a créé ce podcast que nous aimons et qui est une ressource utile pour les écrivains et les gens créatifs partout dans le monde.[/tp]
KEEPERS OF THE FLAME: Reflections on the 2nd African Women’s Film Forum
KEEPERS OF THE FLAME: Reflections on the 2nd African Women’s Film Forum
words by Sionne Neely, Ph.D. | images by Moment Catchers GH
A nation without documentaries is like a home without photo albums. We have to gain confidence in telling our stories to the world. Without a family album, we don’t have a history.
-Yaba Badoe at AWIFF, September 23, 2013
If we have problems documenting our past how do we transcribe our future?
-Sefi Atta at AWIFF, September 23, 2013
Nearly two weeks after beginning a new position as Knowledge Management Specialist at AWDF, I joined our team in hosting the 2nd African Women in Film Forum [AWIFF] in Accra [September 23-25]. The forum featured a delightful array of intimate speaker sessions and workshops at the African Regent Hotel and free film screenings at Alliance Française d’Accra and the National Film and Television Institute [NAFTI]. Participants came from near and far including Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, U.S., UK, and France. The three days zipped by in a whirlwind of creative conversations by filmmakers, writers, activists, researchers, actors, producers and students on how to sustain African women to share their stories with the world.
The forum engrossed us in the crosshairs of many stories. Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Communications Specialist at AWDF and the lead organiser of AWIFF, did a brilliant job making all feel welcome and comfortable. Her sincere and persistent focus on creating evolving discussions and action steps on the way forward was inspiring. Therefore, we were compelled to share our experiences or what Dr. Beti Ellerson called “a plurality of perspectives” with one another. Day by day, narratives kept unfolding – stories of forced exile and bittersweet return [Yaba Badoe’s The Witches of Gambaga], stories between grandmothers, mothers and daughters that trigger the pulse of diasporic longing [Sarah Bouyain’s Children of the White Man and The Place in Between], stories that re-imagine myth-making through the portal of a father’s funeral [Akosua Adoma Owusu’s Kwaku Ananse], stories that search for answers in the dense mine fields along the Zimbabwean border [Tsitsi Dangarembga’s On the Border].
As a researcher and archivist, my job is all about mining stories. Digging for stories in the field to understand how AWDF impacts grantees. Cultivating the organisational narrative and helping our staff, donors, partners and grantees to see how our stories and solutions are interconnected. Sharing new information with all stakeholders about how our work matters and the many ways we can captivate with our stories. Stories show us the magic of life, of journeys with no fixed end in sight but rather boundless paths leading to exploration, discovery and possibility.
Stories are also relational practices – a social contract between speakers and listeners. What stories are we telling and for what purposes? By engaging storytelling as a political tool, the sharing transforms an account into an act of accountability, reciprocity and self-awareness between witnesses.
Here are just a few key stories that I gleaned from AWIFF:
1. Our Stories Are Diverse and Multi-Faceted
Hawalatu Inusah took a 24-hour round-trip bus ride, from Tamale to Accra, to see the AWIFF film screenings. She works as Project Director of Northern Friends for Development, an NGO that trains young women with professional sewing, hairdressing and weaving classes. The organization began as a way to combat “kayayoo” (female head porters) or the migration of Northern women to Accra for work that often results in exploitative conditions.
Hawa’s bright eyes and warm spirit mirrors a passion to transform the livelihoods of women in the North. “AWDF works with many local organizations in northern Ghana and helps us to stay connected, brainstorm and exchange ideas,” Hawa shared prior to the first AWIFF film. “It’s enlightening to learn about film production because it’s different from my field. They are helping to change the way African women are shown. And this affects my chances – as an African woman – of being seen and heard.”
Playwright and scriptwriter, Ade Solanke who also led a master class on Scriptwriting on the first day of the forum, asked what other genres can we explore for storytelling? Ade’s production company, Spora Stories, is invested in telling stories of the diaspora or “fish out of water stories, African abroad stories, in and out of culture stories.” Such diverse migration stories, according to Ade, are universal experiences increasingly felt by people across the world. However, cultural and commercial values are revealed in how we share our stories. Ade suggests we reframe the story by focusing on fresh, nuanced strategies to express the many realities of African lives.
2. Our Stories are Always on the Move
Our stories indicate that we are flexible when confronting challenges, able to adapt and thrive, and imagine alternative dimensions to expand. Anita Erskine, CEO of Brand Woman Africa, spoke about the importance of chasing the passion of our stories and nurturing organisational development. She discussed a desire to change the narrative of what it means to be African women into a destiny that is resourceful, inventive and interdependent. On the last day of AWIFF, Anita demonstrated her commitment by announcing that her company would provide production grants to two women students to make short films [and the grants will be managed by AWDF].
Similarly, Tsitsi Dangarembga pointed to the need for greater production support of African women’s stories, particularly mid-career directors who are often locked out of viable funding options. Tsitsi remarked, “filmmaking is not a site of privilege for African women but a site of struggle.” Therefore, our work should ensure that future generations of women can “climb higher.”
Writer and filmmaker Sarah Bouyain’s work sits at the crossroads of mixed-race identity and reflects the complexity of being both French and Burkinabé. Bouyain’s work is persistently framed through Burkina Faso and a dense exploration into intergenerational relationships between women family members. She muses, “I was looking for cinema even when I was writing novels. I was writing with images. [Therefore] I want to make films from the perspective of a mother – to be an example for my daughter so she can do what she wants.” In her next film, Sarah will use multi-racial identity as a conceptual device to tell the story because “it’s on my mind all the time, being from two countries where one colonized the other.”
3. Our Stories Are Thread with Common Experiences
Writer and documentarian, Yaba Badoe shared her story of “endless perseverance” to complete book and film projects over the past two decades. She’s continuing the journey with her next project, a feature-length documentary about the life and work of writer and activist Ama Ata Aidoo who inspires Badoe with a thriving “pan-African and internationalist” blueprint.
In the closing address, Dr. Yaba Blay shared a touching story about meeting Ama Ata Aidoo as an adult during AWIFF after hearing stories from her father for years about the writer who also named Blay at her outdooring.
Indeed, African women are the repositories of history, “the keepers of culture” says Blay. She encouraged us to be self-reflexive, to see that the story begins with ourselves. “Who are we in relation to the stories we tell?” Blay prodded. “Part of my duty in storytelling is in telling the truth. We are accountable to each other through our stories. My people, my integrity are at stake and I am not for sale.”
South African filmmaker and producer, Lodi Matsetela, was moved to tears by the women in Badoe’s Witches of Gambaga who reminded her of her grandmother and other women from home. “It doesn’t matter how far apart we are – we all have similar stories to tell,” she mused. The future of our stories is what is at stake for Lodi who asks, “how do we create alternative distribution for independent filmmakers? How do we set up a pan-African circuit for developing our projects?”
4. Our Stories Must be Focused on Self-Determined Strategies
Sarah Mukasa, Director of Programmes at AWDF, also raised pertinent questions about the sustainability of our stories. How do we keep the firing burning year after year? Citing how development work can use film to build capacity and raise awareness about the issues we are working against, Sarah added, “Film can amplify the voices of African women, connect us as agents of our change and help us to share new ideas. How do we sustain the generation of resources – funding, technical assistance, resource sharing – on the continent and in the diaspora?”
Filmmaker Anita Afonu understands all to well the thin line between historical preservation and extinction. The director of Perished Diamonds, the documentary chronicles the Ghanaian cinema industry and its currently endangered archive. Last year, Anita singlehandedly launched a campaign to preserve more than 15,000 colour films made during Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s tenure in office. The films – archived in London facilities for safekeeping – were under threat due to years of overdue payments shirked by Ghana’s government. “I lost weight, I couldn’t sleep, I cried so many nights,” Anita shares. With the help of forum participants, Anita will lead a committee to organize a digital archive of the films for educational and commercial use in Ghana.
Marking the way forward, we closed AWIFF with discussions on how to encourage new spaces of hope and innovation for women story makers. Where can we create “home” in the craft of storytelling and mold nodes of comfort, nurture, openness and honesty within our communities? One action group meeting in particular focused on composing an African women and media manifesto led by Dr. Ellerson and Tsitsi Dangarembga.
In addition to nurturing talent, strengthening capacity and focusing on women’s skills and expertise, we can interface digital technologies with our stories. How do we do this? By making more information available online, participating actively in digital forums, innovating digital projects, seminars and open Skype sessions, launching crowdsourcing platforms and digital distribution of our stories.
The 2nd African Women in Film Forum is proof in the pudding that we as African women can innovate alternative spaces to learn and improve our craft, establish new techniques and invent new patterns of being.
Sisters, keep stirring that magic brew.
As keepers of the archive, we must also be keepers of the flame.
Happy Birthday Professor Ama Ata Aidoo
Happy Birthday Professor Ama Ata Aidoo
Last Saturday, Professor Ama Ata Aidoo celebrated her birthday. This occasion reminded me of how overjoyed I was when I first met her . The year was 2008, I had recently started working for the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), and one day Ama Ata Aidoo (as she is popularly called) dropped by the office. I was beyond excited. I mean, Ama Ata Aidoo is the rockstar of African women writers. I had read ‘Anowa’ in secondary school, acted the role of the slave girl in ‘Dilemma of a Ghost’ whilst in college, and my first degree dissertation had been on ‘The concept of home in the novels of Ama Ata Aidoo and Buchi Emecheta’. Ama Ata Aidoo’s influence on my life went beyond my education. When my friend Alberta Stevens and I started ‘Southern Narrative’, a global dimensions education project in London, we named our first project ‘The Anowa Project’ to pay homage to the inspiring African women we had trained to run workshops in schools in South London dealing with the very challenging issues of identity, race and diversity. So after all these years of reading Ama Ata Aidoo’s novels you can imagine that I was in groupie heaven when I meet her at my place of work.
The best thing about meeting Ama Ata Aidoo has been that she is as inspiring in real life as she is in her books. I recall interviewing the Professor at Mbaasem (Mbaasem translates from Akan as Women’s Affairs), the foundation she established to promote African women writers and we chatted for 2 hours. She was full of insights about African women writers, social development and shared insights on the challenges of combining writing with social change work. This interview was featured in ‘Women Leading Africa: Conversations with Inspirational African Women‘.
I asked a number of friends and colleagues to share their thoughts about the good Professor.
Amina Doherty, coordinator of FRIDA, painter and HE(ART)IST said:
“I love Ama Ata Aidoo! Not simply because she reminded me when I needed to hear it that I too, could be a girl who could, but because she was responsible for introducing me to “love'” in African literature. She took this idea of ‘the revolutionary power of love’ out of critical theory and feminist academia and put it into short stories and tales that I could relate to. In the introduction to the collection: ‘African Love Stories‘ she says: “If we insist, as some of us do, that love is about the human condition, then there is hardly any aspect of women’s loves which [love] stories do not touch…the human heart is all out there in these stories: beleaguered and bleeding, or bold and occassionaly triumphant.” Aidoo’s words and her effort to highlight love as a central aspect of our lives reminds me of how important it is to document African love stories as a means of better understanding who we are, and how we live – as Africans, as people. She highlights the fact that the stories we often hear and read about Africa are the ones deemed to be ‘more important’ because they are of social and political significance, but that all of those ‘very important things’ must be based in love. Our Space is indeed ‘Love‘. “
Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom, Grants Manager of AWDF had this to share:
“I read Ama Ata Aidoo’s ‘Dilemma of a Ghost’ in round about 1981 but the lessons from the story has stayed with me all these years. I still remember
the determination, independence, hopefulness, and assertiveness of Eulalie. I remember the ghost who did not know whether to go to Elmina or to go to
Cape coast a situation that most of us very often get into and are not too good at making the right choices. I remember Ama Ata Aidoo’s dexterity in
“brofulising” English words. My favourite proverb from that book which has stayed with me all these years is “The corn that will burn shall burn whether roasted or boiled” and my thoughts have always been that if God does give me the care or custody of a corn that is destined to burn, I strongly believe that I have the power to turn its fortunes around and force it to realign its destiny for the betterment of society. It is possible to do that.
I also like the short stories “The Girl Who Can and Other Stories” which I read in 2010 I think. I like the assertiveness and independence of most of the women characters, I like the fact that most of them were “no nonsense” characters and I like the general liberal atmosphere most of the women find themselves in those stories.
All in all I will read Ama Ata Aidoo any day. I think she is a marvelous writer, very witty and is able to bring our culture to bear in her writings
to such an extent that even people who are not familiar with the culture are able to appreciate it.
I think I will go back and read all these books again so I can savour them all over again. I still have all those books from my days in school.
Auntie Ama you have adequately paid your dues”
Minna Salami, the award winning writer and blogger behind Ms Afropolian had this to say:
“There’s an interview in Meridians where Aidoo speaks about something I seldom see addressed, namely creating spaces (clubs, she calls it) for women who ‘just want to sit, have a drink, nibble at something and talk about nothing to other women’, a club where we can ‘refuse to be nothing or to be everything’.
Among the many contributions of hers that make my world that bit more enriched, those particular words remind me of how independent and gracious her mind is.”
What are your memories of Ama Ata Aidoo? What does her writing mean to you? Share your thoughts and indeed your well wishes for her via the comments box below
By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
Communications Specialist, AWDF
Launch of ‘Women Leading Africa: Conversations with Inspirational African Women’ Thursday 25th October
Launch of ‘Women Leading Africa: Conversations with Inspirational African Women’ Thursday 25th October
Launch of ‘Women Leading Africa: Conversations with Inspirational African Women’ by the African Women’s Development Fund as part of the Adventurers in the Diaspora (AiD) Forum
Date: Thursday, 25th October 2012
Venue: Branche Lounge, Golden Tulip
Time: 7.30pm
This event will include a panel discussion on ‘African Women and Leadership’ moderated by H.E. Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi with panelists Ama Ata Aidoo, internationally acclaimed writer; Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Theologian; and Mary Wandia, Regional Programme Officer for the Open Society for Eastern Africa
Please find flyer attached Flyer
‘Women Leading Africa: Conversations with Inspirational African Women
‘Women Leading Africa: Conversations with Inspirational African Women
Please see link below for PDF of document
Welcoming Nneka Egbuna in her new role as AWDF’s Ambassador for the Arts
Welcoming Nneka Egbuna in her new role as AWDF’s Ambassador for the Arts
[Below is a speech delivered today by AWDF’s Interim CEO, Theo Sowa at an event held to welcome the musician and activist Nneka Egbuna as AWDF’s Ambassador for the Arts]
We are delighted to have you with us at AWDF this morning to welcome Nneka Egbuna in her role as AWDF’s Arts Ambassador.
AWDF was founded 11 years ago by three inspirational women – Hilda Tadria, Joanna Foster and Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, who was also AWDF’s founding Executive Director until last year. They created an amazing organisation aimed at supporting women organisations in their work to make real change in women’s lives – to ensure the recognition and implementation of ALL women’s human rights (economic, social, cultural, political etc) across our continent. And in partnership with the organisations we make grants to (some of whom are here today) AWDF has achieved some great milestones. AWDF does grant making, capacity building, advocacy and movement building. We have made over 19 million dollars in grants to more than 800 organisations in 42 African countries.
More importantly, we have been able to support some amazing stories of change – for example, the small group of women in Ghana who started baking loaves in a clay oven and have moved from that to setting up a modern bakery with new infrastructure – the profits from which have established a crèche and sponsored neighbourhood children through school; or the project in Ethiopia where on a site visit after a year, positive women who had previously been on the verge of death were transformed through effective treatment of HIV/AIDS, to the extent where they were strong and vibrant, able to afford to buy their own medications without disruptions to the timeline and support their children – all from the seed of a small grant which allowed them to earn and save money from decent, safe labour. Or the women’s shelter in Nigeria, where the women leveraged the money from AWDF to lobby local people and the local government – resulting in the first shelter for women victims of violence in that country, a place where women and their children could go to and be safe in the face of extreme violence. That group was so effective that the Governor of the state not only put money into the building of the shelter, but took on the torch of helping to get other shelters built in other parts of the country.
There are so many stories of change and each of the AWDF staff has different favourites. But one of the lessons learned during this time is that its not enough to change women’s lives project by project – or even policy by policy… That will take too long – and African women, our children and our communities deserve better – deserve change now!
And so AWDF’s Arts, Culture and Sports thematic area was born.
We have learned that it is not enough to talk about international conventions that promote women’s human rights; about international legislation that outlines national responsibilities for the wellbeing of children and communities; about international, regional and national policies that aim to do everything from eliminating poverty to protecting women from violence. These are important discussions to have and the drive to promote, recognise and realise women’s rights is central to the achievement of well being and inclusive development on our continent and throughout the world. Yet despite these laws, these tools, these policies we live in nations where girls continue to have unequal access to education; where women die giving birth at double, triple and quadruple the rates in countries on other continents; where our mothers, daughters and sisters lives are blighted by violence, and where redress and justice can seem distant dreams.
I think that too often our social, economic and political discussions miss a crucial element that is needed to engender true social change – and that is the human element. We can have the most powerful legislation throughout the world – yet if women don’t know about it, how can they use it to change their lives? Just as importantly, real change is not externally imposed. A wise, feminist mother and mentor once told me that true and sustainable change in any area has to be powered by individual, internal understandings and decisions that come together in collective action and movement. So change in our heads, in our hearts, in our beliefs and in our actions…
And the arts can be powerful catalysts of such individual and collective understandings. Artists can produce works that translate dusty words into clear and heartfelt understandings of issues and ways of dealing with them. Art can touch the souls as well as the minds of countless people, inspiring passion, anger, joy and other emotions that can catalyse action in ways that court cases and academic lectures and even protest marches may never achieve. Art can bring information and meaning into lives in ways that can be more real, more grounded and more influential than any number of texts. Arts – traditional or modern – are integral to our cultural lives… and changes in social, economic and political arenas will never truly take root without parallel changes in our cultural norms, beliefs and practices.
Please don’t think that I am saying that we can achieve social change and justice through art alone. We cannot. But we can and must leverage the transformational power of the arts if we are to achieve and to accelerate real social change.
And that is what our Arts, Culture and Sports programme seeks to do. We hope to use the power of the arts and culture to increase public support for women’s rights, to challenge the negative stereotypes of African women; to document women’s lives and contributions and create new, dynamic and more accurate narratives about African women; to raise the profiles of our amazing African women artists and to use arts and sports to mobilise new constituencies – especially of confident, passionate young women activists.
I have seen traumatised children respond and come to life in music workshops; have seen communities that have been fighting for years come together over games of football; have seen the power of film to touch people’s hearts and change their thinking; have experienced writers whose works have changed my life and motivations (including the wonderful Professor Ama Ata Aidoo who is with us today)…
Join us in using arts, culture and sport to accelerate and leverage the change we want to see.
Thank you.
Where are all the African women artists?
Where are all the African women artists?
On the 4th of August 2011, I attended the ‘Adventurers in the Diaspora Series’ at Accra’s Golden Tulip. The topic for discussion was “Revitalising Ghana’s National Museum of Arts”, and judging by the huge turnout the subject was clearly of interest to a large number of people. There were several ‘distinguished’[1] persons on the panel. This is how members of the panel were described in the event posted on Facebook:
“Mrs. Frances Ademola -artist and owner of Ghana’s first private art gallery, the LOOM
Mr. Seth Dei—Ghana’s largest collector of contemporary art and whose Dei foundation supports various Ghanaian artists and indigenous high-tech initiatives. He is also a partner at Blue Skies industry, a pre-eminent agro-business based in several countries around the world.
Hon. Fritz Baffour, MP- Chairman of the Museum board
Hon. J.S. Annan (MP)- Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry and ex-Minister for Education
Prof, Atukwei Okai- Secretary General of Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) and professor of African literature
David Adjaye- principal of Adjaye Associates, a world-leading architecture firm based in London and New York.
Kofi Setordji- reknowned artist and sculptor, co-director of Nubuke Art Gallery”
I feel like there were a lot more panelists at the actual event than described above, and I cannot remember Professor Okai being there (but I could be mistaken).
A couple of the panelists struck me for diverse reasons. Frances Ademola struck me, because she is a woman artist, the founder of an Art gallery and was credited by many members of the panel as the one who had nurtured their appreciation of Art, yet I had no prior knowledge of the existence of either her or her art gallery. David Adjaye because I have heard so much, and read so much about this award winning Ghanaian British architect yet I had no idea that he even visited Ghana or was in any way active here[2] and finally Kofi Setordjii because he gave a compelling call to action when he spoke.
At the end of the evening I was having a drink with one of my artist friends – he’s a photographer, likes to strum the guitar, writes and has an amazing eye for fashion and style.
Me: I want to go and check out the Museum of Arts, I had no idea one even existed.
Him: Yes, let me know when you want to go and we’ll make a trip of it.
Me: I want to see what potential there could be for AWDF to work with the Museum. We want to build an African Women’s Museum but we’re putting that on the backburner for now. Maybe we can fund an exhibition of women artists.
Him: [laughing] Which women artists?
Me: Yeah, that’s the point isn’t it? I am sure there are women artists everywhere but we don’t know about them. And it depends how you think about art – there is photography, fashion, writing…
Him: True. A lot of the time people do not think of photography as art…
Our conversation got me thinking. Who are the African women artists and where are they? I am especially interested in African women artists who use their art as a tool to provoke social consciousness. I started to create a mental list of African women artists that I know are doing this and then I thought, “I should blog about this and ask people to add to the list”. So that’s what I’m doing. My list is only going to comprise of people that I know in some way, and for the sake of brevity I will highlight only 10 African women artists. Either I have read their books, watched them perform, heard them speak, seen a trailer for their movie or engaged with them in some way – even if it’s only been via twitter 🙂
Do me a favour and add on to this list in the comments box. Let’s track who the African women artists are, what they do, and where they are.
Here’s my list:
- Frances Ademola? – I’m a bit confused as to whether to add her to the list. Is she an art gallery owner or an artist? Is the owner of an art gallery also an artist because they have an artistic eye or does an artist always create? AiD’s programme described her as an artist but in googling her I have come across this interview, which quoted her as saying, “I’m the eye of the buyer. It’s a good thing that I’m not an artist”[3]
- Nneka – Nigerian/German songstress who sings in English and Pidgin about the need for Africans to take responsibility for the problems we face on the continent (The Uncomfortable Truth), jogs our collective memory on the issues confronting Nigerian society whilst reminding us of the importance of remembering Ken Saro Wiwa and the causes for which the prominent environmental activist died , (Soul is Heavy) and the need for us all to recognize our inherent beauty (Beautiful). Nneka agreed in 2010 to work as an Arts Ambassador for AWDF and I’m really looking forward to exciting collaborations between her and AWDF
- Yvonne Chaka Chaka – One of Africa’s most powerful voices who also lends her support to many admirable initiatives. Yvonne Chaka Chaka sits on the AWDF South Africa board, is a member of the African Women Leaders Network for Reproductive Health, serves as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Malaria and also has her own NGO, The Princess of Africa Foundation. I personally met Yvonne when she attended AWDF’s 10th anniversary celebrations in November 2010 and I was struck by how nice Yvonne was as a person. Sometimes when you meet huge stars you’re disappointed because they act like divas but Yvonne is niceness personified.
- Wanuri Kahiu –I get most of my updates on Wanuri via her twitter handle @wanuri . I have seen the trailer for her film Pumzi and unfortunately missed an opportunity to see the full length film at the last Environmental Film Festival of Accra yet what I have seen of her trailer has been enough to convince me that this is the type of work that organizations like AWDF need to fund if we are going to use the arts as a tool for gender empowerment. In researching Wanuri further I came across her blog and it looks like she is not only nifty with the camera but with words too.
- Ama Ata Aidoo – Where do I start from when it comes to this doyenne of African literature? Like many people in Ghana, I first came across Ama Ata Aidoo in secondary school as “Dilemma of a Ghost” and “Anowa” were on our reading list. At university I decided to write my dissertation on the concept of ‘home’ as seen through the works of Ama Ata Aidoo and Buchi Emecheta (another stalwart of African women’s literature). In 2008, I met Auntie Ama face to face and was thrilled to be able to interview her for AWDF’s very first e-newsletter.
- Asa – I have been told Asa is my lookalike but that’s not why I have included her on this list 🙂 Recently I’ve heard one of her songs, which touches on the issue of sexual abuse. Please let me know what the title is if you know the song I’m describing – she sings about a young girl who has been abused and somehow the girl’s Father is involved.
- Jessica Horn – Jessica is a personal friend, poet and an all round inspiration to me. She’s the author of “Speaking in tongues” and a dynamic member of the African Feminist Forum’s steering committee. Jessica is also a women’s rights consultant focusing on issues of health, women’s rights and social change
- Leila Djansi – I first heard of Leila when her film “Sinking Sands” came out. I eventually watched ‘Sinking Sands’ with a friend and immediately afterwards was interviewed by Joy Fm for our perspectives on the film. Although we liked many aspects of the film we both felt that it’s a shame the male lead had what many may perceive as an excuse to be violent to his wife, especially as domestic violence is such an every day occurrence all over the word. Despite this, and upon continued reflection on the film I feel that ‘Sinking Sands’ is an important milestone in the Ghanaian film industry. The lead actress Ama K Abebrese did an amazing job and was well rewarded with an African Movie Award for Best Actress in a lead role. Kudos to Leila for highlighting the issue of domestic violence.
- Yaba Badoe – ‘The Witches of Gambaga’ is a powerful documentary, which brings us the real life stories of women condemned to live as witches at the Gambaga camp in Northern Ghana. I first saw this documentary at the 3rd African Feminist Forum in Dakar, Senegal, and subsequently at its premiere in Ghana. ‘The Witches of Gambaga’ always provokes a variety of reactions in the audience – shock, disbelief that women are accused of witchcraft in this day and age, and a strong desire to change the status quo. It is my hope that this documentary remains a powerful tool for creating a more just world for women and men.
So in your opinion where all the African women artists who use their art as a tool for social justice and the empowerment of women?
Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
Programme Officer for Fundraising & Communications
AWDF
[1] I believe this was how the panel was described. In Ghana and to my understanding, being distinguished usually means you’re a Member of Parliament, a Minister or a Politician of some sort. Sometimes the term ‘distinguished’ is used to refer to a person who has excelled in their profession or life work.
[2] I’m assuming David Adjaye is in some way active in Ghana’s artistic/cultural purely events purely because he was selected for the panel discussion. Of course I could be totally wrong.
[3] http://visionofthefuture.blogspot.com/2009/11/art-matriarch.html