photos by Kwame Samori/KwaSa photography
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            The more than 58 travelers from the U.S., were hosted in the capital Accra, convened lively panel discussions and visited artisans villages in Kumasi before going to Cape Coast -Elmina to visit the dungeons that held our people just prior to shipping them off to the slave markets in the U.S. and the Caribbean. It was truly an unforgettable experience.
       

            That evening, we traveled to an oceanside restaurant for dinner, the Next Door Beach Resort, which had great food, live entertainment and dancing. Even after a ten hour plane trip, checking into hotels and the opening, some of us were still ready to party. NCAers came from New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Alabama, Ohio, Massachusetts, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida, the Virgin Islands, Illinois, Georgia and who knows where else, and they felt right at home.
            The next morning, we visited the Makola Market and did some shopping, with the help of hoards of vendors with all types of merchandise trying to sell us before we got to the shops where a dollar goes a very long way. The rate was 8,000 cedis to the dollar, or to put it into perspective, an out-fit that you would pay about 100 dollars for in the states, you could get for about $20 or 160,000 cedis.
            We visited the Wm. E. B. Dubois Center, where Dr. Dubois lived and worked while compiling the Encyclopedia Africana, for Osayefo, President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah shortly after independence. Photographs of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, George Padmore and many others adorned the walls. Most were old copies of familiar images, seen in many books. It would be nice if we, here in the states, could send them relevant photos and documents from the Pan-African struggle.

            That evening, we returned to the National Museum, for the opening of the NCA International Exhibition, which was officially opened by Ghana’s Vice-President, His Excellency Aliu Mahama. Many NCA artists were represented in the show, too many to note here. Among works that we will mention are; Paul Goodnight’s “Road to Rhythm”; Danny Simmons’ “1-800 Cop Shot Another”; Phyllis Stephens’ quilt “The Three Musketeers”; Ben Jones’ “Spirit Mask”; and Brathwaite’s “There’s A Void Out There”, among the artists that were present at the opening.    Cora Marshall’s “Maya 1”; Saffrell Gardner’s “Dream Keeper”; Wis Kudowor’s “Ancestral Wisdom”; Rikki Wemega-Kwawu’s “Lower Manhattan by Night”; Ghanaian master artist, Ablade Glover’s “Virgin Forest”; Otto Neals’ “Emergence”; Samuel Oliver’s “the Poet of the Street”; Agyeman Nanart’s oil on skin with raffia and bamboo; “A Child Cannot pay for its Mother’s Milk”; Anthony Anane-Asare’s “Yesterday’s Tomorrow”; and Kofi Davison’s “Ritual Murners” are just a few worthy of mention.
 

            The conference featured many panel and scholarly presentations. Mr. Benjamin Offei-Nyako (affectionately called BON), Co-chair of the NCA Ghana Chapter, welcomed and introduced NCA founder Dr. Margaret Burroughs whose keynote address was “The Influence of African Art of World Art” at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT). Other papers presented were, “Spirituality and the Practice of Art Education in Africa and the Diaspora by Dr. Mariama Ross of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, presently on loan to the College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST); “African Continuity in Art and spirituality in the Caribbean  by Dr. Ofori Ansah, Howard University, Washington, D.C.; and an inspiring presentation by Dr. Rosalind Jeffries completed the presentations in Accra.

Dr. Jeffries gave a rousing lecture on Black art at
Ghana National Association of Teachers in Accra.

NCA members at Gala.

            The NCA delegates were the honored guests at the Gala Opening Night at the National Theatre. Presentations by Professor Achamyeleh Debela, co-chairman, NCA - Ghana Chapter, Professor of Art North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC/ Fulbright Scholar @ The College of Art, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana 2000-2002; Prof. S.K. Ayim, Vice Chancellor, KNUST and Prof George P. Hagan, Chairman- National Commission on Culture, Dr. Burroughs and a representative of the President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kuffour, were given before the special appearance of Ghanaian comedian, Kweku Sintim Misa (K.S.M.) preceded the production “Rites of Passage” by Professor Kumla Amoaku, Executive director, National Theatre.

            Next, we were off to Kumasi, for the conference, which was held at the Crystal Rose Hotel, while the proposed site, KNUST, was being renovated. Dr. Ofori Ansah’s presentation on Akan spiritual symbolism in African-American Art showed the indisputable evidence of both conscious and unconscious use of African symbols, citing many including William Shepard, Alain Locke and James A. Porter. “For African-American artists, it was a natural, conscious effort to express what has been theirs over the centuries” … “different from Picasso and others in the 20th century. Ansah spoke of the manifestations of Akan (Southern and Central Ghana and the Ivory Coast), Kente and Adinkra symbols used by early African-American artists.” He related, “Quilters did not study art, but their use of ‘subconscious ancestral memory’ inspired their work.” In the 1920’s, Alain Locke began studying African symbolism. Others like John Biggers, Lois Mailou Jones, James Philips used Kente and Adinkra esthetics in their work with use of Gye Nyame (Symbol of the Omnipotence of God). He particularly noted the work of NCA’s Akili Ron Anderson (D.C./Columbia Heights), and his stained glass window of the Metro station.
 

NCA Group shot at Ablade Glover’s Artist Alliance Gallery.

Africa One’s re-enactment of kidnapping of Africans to be sold in the new world.

            The most emotional part of the conference was the trip to Cape Coast - Elmina. After checking into the beautiful Elmina Beach Resort, we travel the short distance to Cape Coast Castle, which is in fact a fort and dungeon that was used to warehouse captives destined for slavery. One cannot get the full feeling of what happened here by visiting their museum and reading the sanitized accounts by Europeans on the walls. One must utilize the tour guide and the special presentations by Africa One, Amakush and expatriates who have settled in Ghana, to get close to the horror of those who were incarcerated here before going through the “door of no return” directly to the ships that would carry those brothers and sisters into a life of slavery. The Africa One presentation and trip into the dungeon, is a must, for those who want to get closer to the truth of the experience. Many leave there in tears. NCA, as in previous international visits, left a plaque at the site. The memorial is inscribed: “In memory of our ancestors, who suffered the cruelest crime against humanity that the world has ever known. We, the survivors vow to insure that such evil will never again be committed by man against man. The National Conference of Artists present this commemorative plaque with commitment to use our artistic talents and creativity to protect, advance and cherish the continuity of our Ancestral memory.