The Black Star Festival launched
The Black Star Festival, a celebration of African culture, creativity and heritage has been launched, with a call to uphold and promote Ghana’s rich culture.
The launch, which took place at the Accra Tourist Information Centre (ATIC) on Tuesday, June 17, was graced by the Executive Director of National Commission on Culture and other relevant stakeholders in the arts and culture industries.
The official launch of the Black Star Festival aligns with President John Mahama's recently unveiled Black Star Experience initiative, a flagship project by his government aimed at establishing Ghana as Africa's cultural and creative hub. (Read Ghana launches The Black Star Experience: What you need to know)
This ambitious programme features a year-round celebration of Ghana's rich heritage through various festivals, art exhibitions, music performances, fashion showcases, culinary events, film productions, and heritage conservation efforts.
By launching the Black Star Festival, the government reaffirms its commitment to promoting Ghana's cultural identity and creative industries, with President Mahama calling on government creative agencies to play a key role in driving the initiative forward.
In his address, the Executive Director of NCC, Mr Wakefield Ackuaku said the Black Star Experience is a natural progression of previous cultural endeavours, including the Year of Return and Beyond the Return.
“The Black Star Experience aims to build on the momentum generated by these initiatives, propelling Ghana's cultural identity into the future.
“As we all know, the NCC has the mandate to preserve and promote the culture of Ghana while forging a unique Ghanaian identity. This Black Star Experience didn’t come from a vacuum, it is building on what was started earlier and Black Star Festival is one of the projects under the Black Star Experience to push Ghana’s culture agenda,” he said.
The Black Star Festival is a celebration of African culture, creativity and heritage featuring music, art, fashion, film and business networking.
It is an initiative of GD Visionary Group Ltd in collaboration with the National Commission on Culture (NCC).
The three days festival will take place from September 26-28 at Washington DC, USA with Ghana’s version coming off in October.
Among the events scheduled for the three days event are street carnivals, film week, fashion showcases, food fairs, theatrical performances and a gala night.
President of GD Visionary Group, Mr Joseph Marteye said that the programme aims to similarly engage Ghanaians who haven’t been to Ghana before to learn, experience and celebrate the rich culture of their Ghanaian roots.
“Unlike traditional festivals, the Black Star Festival is a movement, not just an event with a year-round programming that elevates Ghana’s global influence and position as a global tourist destination.
The Board Chairman of GD Visionary Group Ltd, Mr Humphrey Quaye said he was confident the festival would attract a significant number of African diasporans to Ghana, not only for cultural exploration but also for potential business and investment opportunities.
The Black Star Festival will also feature visual artworks that carry Ghanaian heritage and experience.
Artists billed to be part of the festival in the US in September are Ibrahim Mahama, Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, Betty Acquah, Samuel Lovi and Serge Attukwei Clottey.
