A LOOK AT  GHANA'S ARTS AND CRAFT INDUSTRY

Ghana’s arts and crafts industry is one of the many attractions to tourists. The industry produces several of these year round from Ghana and other neighboring West African Countries, but the woes of the arts and craftsmen are linked to low patronage, especially by  Ghanaians.

One of the many foreigners who are patrons of the crafts

In recent past, patronage of crafts by locals has been very low. Foreigners on the other hand, are the ones seen patronizing most of these crafts, perhaps to use as souvenirs or decorations back home. It’s a joy to see them around Osu, Centre for National Culture etc. bargaining for good prices on them. Some of these foreigners also get fascinated by the symbols engraved on the artifacts. For some though, they  feel cheated by the  locals,  who sell to them at exorbitant prices, but all the same,they  still love to take a souvenir back home, perhaps to learn about the rich Ghanaian culture.

 Ironically, many Ghanaians have described locally-made crafts as ‘’fetish’’, outdated and prefer to own similar foreign crafted products, whose quality cannot be compared to the local products. Interestingly, some parents are less enthused about owning a piece in their homes for fear of being taken over by evil spirits, thereby endangering the lives of their loved ones.

So I set out to the Arts Centre, mainly to find out ‘’why people have a negative  notion  about our own goods , but say ‘’oh hail the Queen’’ to foreign products. Even in the areas of arts and crafts.

Some of the crafts from Ghana

Bature Ahmed –Quaram, the chairman of the Arts and Crafts dealers  Association at the centre for National  Culture explained that  most  of the locally made artifacts  which he termed fetish  were bought by  foreigners. He also added that most foreigners purchase it to learn about the history of other countries. He admitted that the prices are high, hence the rising of the  dollar. According to Bature,most of the crafts have meanings attached to them, especially when linked to history.

One elderly woman, who spoke on anonymity disclosed that  most of  their arts are  now purchased by the  Chinese, Lebanese and filippianos, who mostly  troop the  Centre  in search of Ivory. This brought me to my next question ‘as to whether Ivory sale is ongoing in Ghana’? 

In my findings, I also discovered that old currencies from different countries, including Ghana are also on sale at the Centre. 
So the next time, you want to learn more about Ghana’s economy, perhaps the Arts Centre might be the right place.