Friday Aug 22nd Activities

Hey there,

This past Friday was filled with activities. In the morning we traveled a short distance to the Artist Alliance Gallery where we had a lecture by the Director of the Gallery Ablade Glover on the Arts of Ghana. We are told that he is a very well known artist in Ghana and we were also able to have him talk a little bit about his paintings in the gallery. The gallery consisted mostly of contemporary art in Ghana. There were three floors filled with many fantastic paintings and sculptures. The ones that stuck out most to me were ones that featured a lot of movement and vibrant colors. They also had most everything for sale and I can definitely see myself going back.

After the gallery traveled a bit down the road to Teshie to visit a famous coffin shop. Their business card is pink and reads " Daniel Obbie-- Hello Design Coffins-- Manufacturers of Proverbial Coffins." The Ga tribe of Ghana both mourns and celebrates death, so part of the celebration manifests itself in the design of the coffins. If a person was a pilot in his lifetime then his coffin might be a plane. It is seen that most times the occupation determines the design of the coffin. All of these coffins are carved out of wood by hand and then painted. They are very intricate and colorful. And don't you worry I took more pictures that I will post soon.

Following the coffin shop we departed for the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum where we were given a tour of the museum and burial site of Ghana's first president. It was probably one of the most thorough and scripted tours I have ever had. Our tour guide gave us an explanation for literally every single picture of Kwame Nkrumah in the museum.

Statue of Kwame Nkrumah, we were told he is pointing forward because he believed that we must always look forward to our futures never backwards.

We concluded our day with an information session about where we can do community service throughout our area. That included AIDS organizations, autism centers, childcare centers, community development programs, and more. I hope to check out a couple different places but I might end up working with children in some way. I think many of the students here are looking forward to that aspect of our stay here.