Support for Ghanaian Artists impacted by COVID-19

Globally, working people are feeling the unfavorable effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; some more than others. This pandemic has exposed governments for putting profit and economies above people and their lives. Ghana is no different. A three week lockdown that was imposed on two major cities in the country was lifted , due to the harsh impacts that was having on those who work for themselves or in sectors without special provisions and protections.

The Ghanaian government only halved electricity costs and cancelled water bills for three months, and distributed food supplies in attempts to ease the effects of the lockdown, after protests were made by citizens and political activists.

One of the many groups of people being affected by this sudden change in the way we live and work is artists, many of whose livelihoods depend on producing and showcasing, or performing, work - things they will be largely unable to do for some time to come. It is noteworthy that this crisis is happening off the back of the much celebrated Year of Return which saw millions of people come to Ghana to experience and relish the work of artists and creatives of all kinds.

We are calling on the African Diaspora to step in where the Ghanaian government has failed, in providing much needed support for members of the country’s art communities.

For People’s Stories Project, writer Moshood penned a piece, “Support vs Semantic“, on the current climate for artists.

Here’s an excerpt:

“And then there’s Ghana, where I live. As part of the state response to the pandemic and its repercussions, the government has provided several stimulus packages to different categories of Ghanaians – from health workers to the so-called “poorest of the poor.” There’s been nothing, categorically, for artists; which may be understandable for a country that’s neither as moneyed nor as interested in art and artists as, say, Germany (who, it is worth stating, have African blood on their hands from Gold Coast to German South West Africa).

Ghana has a Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and a National Creative Arts Council. To the best of my knowledge, these two bodies might as well be non-existent as far as an official address to artists in the country. I’ve checked all their social media and seen nothing. No commiserations, not even the usual platitudes. On the News section on the Creative Arts Council’s website, the only text on the entire page could as well be a message to artists or whoever else is waiting for a word from them: Coming Soon.

We wait.

It’s a struggle, even under normal circumstances, to be an artist in Ghana – a struggle not limited to the financial, but that which extends into the sociocultural, and consequently, the psychological; a struggle which can only be aggravated by the effects of COVID-19.”

Read the entire piece here - https://www.psp-culture.com/commentary/support-vs-semantics/

Our plan is to raise funds from which to disburse a monthly living grant to artists of all kinds, across the country, from up north to down south.

Ghanaian artists & creatives impacted by COVID-19, the application to access financial support from the COVID-19 crowdfunded is open. Application to access funds can be completed here - https://airtable.com/shrWVYDZQN9ZqLSaU#


Artists awarded funds  - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iE1a95n58Km-vVzYuCdnrb4G9GF1_AyYgc0iGFiB5Rc/edit?usp=sharing


Fund decision guidance - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-dqir-sAREqOQUrOz17qJQ1F4u7yzk2HmTpjeXYiZY8/edit?usp=sharing


Campaign image: Fancy Dress Parade, Winneba, Ghana January 1, 2018 by ( image by Nii Kotei Nikoi – @niikotei)