HIPLIFE artiste and entrepreneur MzBel has dismissed suggestions that her newly launched Afro Essence Village at Gbawe in Accra promotes juju, saying the space was created to celebrate Ghanaian art, culture and heritage.
According to the 16 Years hitmaker, the presence of sculptures, traditional items and other cultural artefacts at the facility initially led some people to misunderstand the purpose of the initiative.
“Some people thought we were into juju because of the sculptures and traditional items here, so we had to explain that wasn’t the case,” she told Graphic Showbiz on the sidelines of the launch on Saturday, August 22.
“We’re simply promoting Ghanaian art and culture and creating a space where people can learn and appreciate our heritage,” she added.
The Afro Essence Village, which is also known as the Gbawe Arts Centre, evolved from MzBel’s BelKids Playground and Bella’s Pub, which she has transformed into a creative hub for artists and cultural enthusiasts.
MzBel, known in private life as Belinda Nana Ekua Amoah, said the idea was born after she noticed that many of her customers were foreigners and Ghanaians living abroad who visited the facility to relax and have fun but had limited opportunities to experience Ghanaian art and culture.
“This place used to be just a playground, a restaurant and a bar. But over the past five years, I noticed most of our customers were foreigners and Ghanaians living abroad.
“They come here to have fun, but they didn’t really get the chance to learn about our culture and art.
“So I decided to bring art and culture into the space. My team and I invited a few creatives to showcase their work here and that’s basically how Afro Essence Village was born,” she said.
MzBel said the initiative was part of her desire to use her influence in the creative industry to promote Ghanaian art and culture.
“I’m in the creative industry and over the years, I’ve realised I have a really big platform. Anything I put out there travels far, so I decided to use that to promote art and culture,” she said.
Beyond the initial misconception, the artiste said her vision was to build a lasting creative and cultural hub that would bring artists together while giving them opportunities to showcase and sell their work.
Although she grew up in Jamestown, MzBel said Gbawe had become another home to her and she was grateful for the opportunity to build something meaningful within the community.
“My vision is to put Gbawe on the map through arts, culture and tradition. I also want to bring people in Ghana’s creative industry together and give them a home, a platform, a space to showcase their work.
“So if anyone wants to buy, support or help these creatives with business opportunities, I can connect them,” she said.
She is also moving away from the usual live-band entertainment at the facility in favour of traditional drumming and dancing, which she believes will give children an opportunity to have fun while learning about Ghanaian culture.
“This allows the children to get involved, have fun and learn at the same time. We want them to learn traditional practices such as drumming, dancing, even simple things like using an asanka instead of a blender. It’s about preserving our culture and passing it on,” she said.
