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The UGBS Innovation and Incubation Hub has collaborated with PiNA on the STARTS4AFRICA Project, with the aim of addressing the possibility of loss of the Ghanaian heritage, the Nsadwase Nkɔmɔ. Nsadwase Nkɔmɔ is a storytelling form of performance in Ghanaian culture that uses music and sometimes dance to lay out its plots and themes. As a solution, STARTS4AFRICA seeks to make the context of Nsadwase Nkɔmɔ (Anansesem and Palm wine music) more appealing to younger generations and ensure its continued vitality through digital artistry.
Commencing in April, 2024, the UGBS Innovation and Incubation Hub has been playing its part in hosting the six months residency programme by offering a creative space for artists, cultural specialists, and technologists to envisage a digital future for the Nsadwase Nkɔmɔ Performance Circle which the hub will host. The initial phase of the project execution was a pitch competition on 5th March 2024 to select artists who would be accepted into the program. Out of the numerous artists who presented their proposals both from Ghana and Nigeria, the Ghanaian photographer and multidisciplinary artist, Kwasi Darko emerged the winner.
Activities at the residency progressed with a two-day training session on 14th & 15th April 2024. The training session was focused on project management to equip the selected artist, Kwasi, as well as other artists with the skills and knowledge to effectively plan, manage, and execute their artistic projects. The effectiveness of the project management training reflected in Kwasi’s presentation of his initial sketches and storyboard for the Nsadwase Nkɔmɔ project on 21st May, 2024. He communicated his interest in exploring various audio recording techniques to capture the storytelling aspect authentically when integrating the Anansesem storytelling elements into a VR environment. Therefore, the host institution identified resources available within the residency program including potential collaborations within the University of Ghana (UG) community the artist can take advantage of.
The collaboration was with Mr. Mark Mensah, one of the experts in residence and a team of students from the UG Computer Science department. Kwasi got to meet them on 6th June, 2024. Four days after the meeting, the artist paid a visit to the residency to meet with the experts in residence, introducing his new team members made up of a Art-Director (Manela Cakson), 3D Artist (Abdul-Razak Mohammed) and an Operations and Administrative Assistant (Masmadi Jehu-Appiah) who were contributing to the progress of his project.
The UGBS NEST organised a masterclass on pitch and presentation to give the artist and his team members, as well as other artists in the university community tips on how to enhance their pitching skills. Some of these tips were knowing their audience to determine the best strategy, having an end goal to guide the presentation. The second residency meetup occurred on 13th June 2024, providing Kwasi another opportunity to present on the progress of the residency, his achievements with his team and challenges encountered in terms of use of technology, access to data and production.
So far, three series of exhibitions have showcased the works of the selected artist. The initial exhibition was held as part of the celebration of the Day of Scientific Renaissance of Africa (DSRA) at the University of Ghana Business School on 20th June, 2024 where the artist exhibited his progress on “A web of tales”. The host institution organised the second and third exhibitions at the Akuafo Hall Forecourt and the UGBS innovation hub respectively which are both venues on UG main campus. Kwasi got to explain his progress on the Nsadwase Nkɔmɔ project to the significant number of students that passed through.
To keep the STARTS4AFRICA project running to expectation, all three parties: the artist, the host institution and the experts in residence are working closely to see the final outcome of the project.
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