Art Reception/Exhibition, Adugyama, Ghana, Sat. Oct. 31, 12-5pm

Art Reception/Exhibition

Hello Everyone,

You are cordially invited to a one day exhibit and reception of art work by Daniel Kerkhoff, the children of Adugyama, and guests.

When: Saturday, October 31st, 12pm to 5pm.

Where: The Area Council Hall, Adugyama, Ashanti Region, Ghana

Adugyama is 45 km northwest of Kumasi on the Sunyani Road. The Area Council Hall is across the street from the MTN tower.

We hope to see you there. Everyone is welcome!


Reception/Receptions

Reception n. 1. an act or process of receiving; a reaction to something.
2. an assembly held to receive guests. --Oxford English Mini Dictionary

Since April, I have been an artist-in residence in Adugyama,.Ghana and have been running an informal drop-in center for children, providing books, paper, pens, pencils, and colored pencils. Children from the neighborhood stop by, draw, and look at the books available.

An Artist and Her Drawing, Adugyama, Ghana
Originally uploaded by Daniel Kerkhoff

The children are all ages and draw in a variety of eclectic styles. Some have focused on drawing animals, cars, airplanes, computers, houses, football players, scenes from village life, planets and stars, trees and nature scenes and many other things. Some have been drawing patterns, focusing on shapes and lines, and creating unique compositions. Many of their drawings will be in the exhibit, and you can see some of them on my flickr site, www.flickr.com.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23472741@N05/sets/72157617821705408/

Also, children/adults from Lisbon, Portugal; Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A. ; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. have also sent some artwork to the village and this will be included in the exhibit as well in The Obruoni Gallery.

I have been doing my own art using pens, pencils, a water color set, a ream of A4 computer paper, a gallon of acrylic house paint, the dirt and charcoal around his residence, and vegetable and palm oils. Many of my dirt paintings have evolved into large collages.

"Mekwabaa (Fermentation of the Cacao Pod) by Daniel Kerkhoff, Adugyama, Ghana
Originally uploaded by Daniel Kerkhoff

These collages relate to my own preoccupations, interests in symbols and shapes, and my personal aesthetic sensibilities interweaving with my experiences in Ghana and the village of Adugyama. I see them as acts of receiving and discovery; they are my journal of witnessing that also honor those mysteries that transcend narrow definitions and rigid labeling.

Mortars and pestles, basins, yams, mobile phones, Adinkra symbols, cacao pods, footballs (soccer balls), stars, tea bags, benches, and ladders have all grabbed me in one way or another and made there way into these pieces. These large scale collages have also taken on a hide, animal skin-like quality. In November, I will fold them up, put them in my suitcase, and return with them back to the U.S. to show. Hopefully, they will become acts of sharing as well and become a part of the Great Weaving Project that has been going on for a long time now.

The children's art of Adugyama will be shown again in June, 2010 at Homewood Studios (www.homewoodstudios.com) in north Minneapolis, MInnesota. Homewood Studios is owned by George and Beverly Roberts who have stayed in the village of Adugyama and have many connections here. Their son, Andrew, was the Peace Corps volunteer in Adugyama for three years and the reason why I am here. Many thanks to them for introducing me to the people here, for all the work that they've done in the communities of Adugyama and north Minnneapolis, and for their encouragement.

I will also have a solo show of my art in June 2010 in north Minneapolis at The Warren-An Artist Habitat, www.thewarrenhabitat.com.

James Joyce had written, "History is a nightmare that I'm trying to wake up from." From Mankato, Minnesota to Adugyama, Ghana, to wherever you are, perhaps within the realm of the "nightmare", little "waking ups" are happening all the time. I use art and travel to try and wake myself up and also notice how much I am sleeping.

Ghana just won the FIFA under-twenty world championships beating Brazil in the final. The Ghana Black Satellites are the first African team to win the championship. Everyone is excited here. I watched the match in Adugyama (Adugyama just got electricity 10 years ago). I was with five boys, Yaw Bimpe, Kwaku Baah, Sadick, Yaw Gyamfi, and Agya. They were dancing, clapping, and shouting in our room and it was an amazing moment for them. Nana and Auntie Bea came in the room and celebrated as well. I took their photos, witnessed this moment, and will take it back with me along with so many other moments.

Many thanks to everyone I met and got to know in Ghana and to those of you reading and commenting on the blogs and photos. Many thanks to my family and friends for all of their support. And a special thanks to the people in Adugyama who helped me so much and shared so much of their lives with me; the family I lived with--Mr. Atta, Auntie Bea, Nana, Rose, Becky, Sara, Ama, Yaw Bimpe, Kwaku Baah, Jennifer, and Sandra. Meda se Pa Paa, Thank you very much!

Over the winter, I'll continue blogging, uploading more photos, reflecting on my experiences here and doing more art.

You can follow along at

http://danielkerkhoff.blogspot.com/
http://thejuderockfish.blogspot.com/

And my photos: www.flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23472741@N05/

Nante Yie (walk well, safe journey), Keep in touch! --Daniel

Daniel Kerkhoff
Ph. 0278913055
rockfish65@yahoo.com
www.danielkerkhoff.com
http://mnartists.org/daniel_kerkhoff

Omanpanin, Ghana's Independence Day, March 6, 1957

"Omanpanin", as explained to me, means "Leader of the Nation" or "President". "Omanpanin" is written on the back of the shirts of the students at Abraham Lincoln Memorial International School, the place I am staying at for the month of March.

Madame Doris Osei, the school's founder and director, explained to me that the students are the future leaders of the nation.

On March 6th every year, Ghana celebrates its Independence Day from British colonial rule. On this day, there are parades, celebrations, and marching competitions between schools. The competitions are similar to marching band competitions in the States.

I went to the Abuakwa grounds near Kumasi, Ghana to witness maybe 30 or more schools perform in the marching competitions. Probably due to a lack of resouces, there was one marching band placed in the middle of the grounds to perform all the music for the various marching groups. This band was composed of trumpets, trombones, drums, and other instruments played for 2 hours.

The school groups marched in a large circle and the bystanders and supporters watched from the outside of this circle. It was a festive and fun atmosphere with people selling food (plantains, eggs), drinks, and frozen treats. When the students got ready to march, they became very serious, hoping to win the competition.

Government schools often wore orange and brown uniforms. There were many private schools as well with interesting names like "Bright Future International School" and "Best Quality International School. There were many Christian schools and there was a Moslem school. There was also a military school.

When it came time for Abraham Lincoln International School to march, all of their teachers were very excited. The students went around the circle and then they came to the tent where the dignitaries and judges sat. School children from the other side rushed past the security and police to get a better view.



The leading student with the baton stopped in front of the judges and the crowd started cheering and shouting as he put on a twirling show like no one else had done before. I was filming the rest of the students and missed most of it! When he finished, the security started chasing the students back to their places and everyone was excited and having fun.

It turned out that Abraham Lincoln got second place in the competition for the 3rd year in a row. A government school always gets first place. After all the students marched, the teachers from Lincoln and other schools marched and started dancing in front of the judges. Later, the students came back to the school and had more treats. It was a fun time and the students from Lincoln were definately proud of their school's achievement.

___________

Ghana is the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence from a former colonial power. Kwame Nkrumah is considered the liberator of Ghana and was also the country's first prime minister.

GHANA'S FLAG: The flag of Ghana has a red horizontal stripe at the top and from what I've heard, the red represents the blood shed for freedom. The horizontal yellow stripe in the middle represents the country's richness in minerals. Ghana is the second largest exporter of gold. The horizontal green stripe at the bottom represents Ghana's richness in forests and vegetation. Ghana is the 2nd largest exporter of cocoa. The black star in the middle represents the People of Ghana and African people gaining their freedoms. These colors were inspired by the Ethiopian Flag's colors, a country that was not dominated by colonial rule.

_____________

Here is a poem that I'll be thinking about while I'm here in Ghana.

The Weaver Bird
by Kofi Awoonor

The weaver bird built in our house
And laid its eggs on our only tree
We did not want to send it away
We watched the building of the nest
And supervised the egg-laying.
And the weaver returned in the guise of the owner
Preaching salvation to us that owned the house
They say it came from the west
Where the storms at sea had felled the gulls
And the fishers dried their nets by lantern light
Its sermon is the divination of ourselves
And our new horizons limit at its nest
Bu we cannot join the prayers and answers of the communicants.
We look for new homes every day,
For new altars we strive to rebuild
The old shrines defiled by the weaver's excrement.

From Rediscovery (1964)

Taken from The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry, 4th Edition, 1998, edited by Gerald Moore and Ulli Beier--Kofi Awoonor: b. 1935 at Wheta, Ghana. Studied at Achimota, Univeristy of Ghana, London, and New York. Edited the literary review Okyeame in the early sixties. After the fall of Kwame Nkrumah, spent some ten years in Britain and the USA before returning to Ghana in 1976 and joining Unversity of Cape Coast. Awonoor was imprisoned for a year in Usher's Fort just before Jerry Rawlings came to power. Since then he has served as ambassador in Brazil and Cuba. His collected poems, Until the Morning After, were published by Greenfield Review Press in 1987.