Community

Ghana has a population of about 25 million people. It is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups. The official language is English; however, most Ghanaians also speak at least one local language. The ethnic groups in Ghana are the Akan (which includes the Fante, Akyem, Ashanti, Kwahu, Akuapem, Nzema, Bono, Akwamu, Ahanta and others) 49.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme (comprising of the Ga, Adangbe, Ada, Krobo and others) 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Gurunsi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other (Hausa, Zabarema, Fulani) 1.8% (2000 census).

In Ghana, visual references to the indigenous arts are everywhere, in clothing, architecture, billboards, corporate advertising, tourist items, on vehicles, and myriad forms. Ghanaian art, from sculpture to body art, is symbolic and representational. Ghanaian art is the way of life of its people. The life of the Ghanaian is made up of two components: physical ( things physically seen such as stools, pots, wooden dolls etc.) and theory (symbols, abstractions such as proverbs, storytelling, songs and dance). It therefore becomes difficult to separate art from life. This makes Ghanaian art, like the arts of many native cultures, unique.

In Ghana, as in many areas of the world, the meanings attached to indigenous art forms are based on larger philosophical foundations. Those meanings are at the crux of the ongoing struggle in the minds of many Ghanaians over the appropriateness of Ghana's traditional arts in their contemporary education system. The indigenous arts are caught in the crossfire between the need to protect and project the country's unique cultural heritage and the adoption of a perceived modernity.

Ghanaian visual arts include painting (pictorial composition), graphics (lettering, packaging design, print making, book illustration), crafts (textiles and embroidery, pottery, sculpture, puppetry, basketry and weaving, calabash decoration, canoe decoration, leather works, and wall decoration – mosaic, collage, murals, stained glass).

The indigenous knowledge systems of the diverse groups of people of Ghana present a broad spectrum for field work. Various community-based research and production activities are being undertaken in various parts of the country. We are engaged in (activities - research, documentation, etc) in various communities in the regions of Ghana.