Accra (Greater Accra) 15 March 2002- Professor George Hagan, Chairman of the National Commission on Culture (NCC), on Thursday expressed regret that the country's great artists, who play vital roles in national life, had not been given the desired recognition.
"An artist is an important member of society. It is the creative work of the artist that constitutes the mental picture which guides peoples lives and makes them human," he said at the inaugural meeting of a 16-member committee of the Ghana Visual Arts Awards.
The aim of instituting the award is to promote creativity among the youth, promote originality in all creative works and create awareness among the public on the need to reward visual artists. The categories envisaged for the awards include sculpture, ceramics, industrial art and interior and exterior decorations.
Prof Hagan said no aspect of development could take place without art, adding that it was the artist who created the visual and aesthetic forms that expressed the central ideas with which lawmakers, rulers and judges sustained social life.
He said over 400,000 tourists, who visited Ghana annually returned to their various destinations with many artefacts as gifts. Prof Hagan noted, however, that the tragedy of the artists was that they expressed themselves in the most indirect languages, which were hardly understood during their lifetime.
"Often it is after the artist is dead that people try to understand and appreciate his work". The committee is under the interim chairmanship of Mr Seth Dei, an art collector.
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