Govt to establish senior high school for creative arts

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for the construction of Ghana's first-ever senior high school (SHS) for the creative arts industry at Kwadaso in Kumasi.

The school will promote Ghanaian literature, music, dance and drama.

The President cut the sod as part of his one-day visit to parts of the Ashanti Region, during which he initiated the construction of a number of projects and also attended the 70th anniversary of Prempeh College.

Fund

President Akufo-Addo said in line with the project, a Creative Arts Fund would be established to provide funding to modernise and develop the sector.

He said there would also be the Creative Arts Council to coordinate and harmonise the various fragmented groups in the sector, adding that a bill to operationalise the initiative was before Parliament for passage.

He said the initiation would help the government to create an enabling environment to support practitioners in the industry, both directly and indirectly.

Skills training

The President said an institution of the nature envisaged formed part of the skills building process that had helped other countries to develop.

He said the project at Kwadaso should be fulfilling for young talents who wanted the opportunity to develop their God-given talents.

He said plans were afoot to support established creative arts personalities to provide guidance and a legacy of their outstanding contributions to the creative arts industry.

Asante

A filmmaker and member of the government's team for the creative arts, Ms Juliet Asante, urged Parliament to speed up work on the local content law for the arts industry to reduce the number of foreign materials on local television.

"We are a beautiful people with talents, but who will tell our stories?” she asked, and called for more local programming on the airwaves.

She said the institution would provide an opportunity for Ghanaian graduates to think critically and make something beneficial “out of our daily problems.”

Ms Asante called on the government to tap into the cultural revolution taking place around the globe and make Ghana’s creative arts industry strong again.