Description
In Ghana, music and art are interwoven throughout everyday culture. The main course objective is to immerse the students within a contemporary African context from the perspective of the arts in order to experience the vitality of West African culture. Students study music, dance, and visual arts in Ghana, West Africa.
While focused on music and art, the workshop is intended for any undergraduate or graduate student with an interest in African culture and aesthetics. Students will be involved in workshop activities five to six hours daily. Specific activities will vary according to student interests, but everyone will study music, dance, visual arts (ie: ceramics, textiles, sculpture, metal-working, and mixed media), and culture, participate in assigned tours (museums, cultural and historical sites, and art workshops), and attend pre-arranged traditional events. The class will also attend local events, such as funerals, ritual events, and social dance clubs, during which music and art play primary roles.
The workshop takes place in four locations: the Volta region; Kumasi, the capital city of the Asante; Cape Coast, an ancient slave port; and Accra, the nation's capital. Our first week will be spent in the village of Kopeyia, where we will hands-on study of batik-making, weaving, dance, and music of the Ewe ethnic group. From there we travel to Cape Coast to visit to the area's slave forts and Kakom nature reserve. In Accra, studies at the Dagara Music and Arts Center will include hands-on studies of xylophone, drumming, dance, drum-making, blacksmithing, and ceramics. Students have the option of traveling with Dr. Green to the Asante capital of Kumasi to visit the Asantehene's palace and nearby art villages of Bonwire (Kente cloth), Ntonso (Adinkra cloth), Ahwiaa (carved figures). Additional Accra trips include museums and other areas of interest (e.g. to visit a fantasy coffin-making studio and a contemporary art gallery).
Workshop Content
Students will be involved in workshop activities five to six hours daily. Specific activities will vary according to student interests, but everyone will study music, dance, visual arts (ie: ceramics, textiles, sculpture, metal-working, and mixed media), and culture, participate in assigned tours (museums, cultural and historical sites, and art workshops), and attend pre-arranged traditional events.