Ghana Art: Exhibition supports young artists

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A group of young artists in the West African country of Ghana have come together, to SHOW OFF their best work at an exhibition in the capital, Accra. Called "Variations," it seeks to showcase different forms of visual art in the country - especially by young artists. CGTN's Nabil Ahmed Rufai tells us more.

Ghanaian artist Nii Lantei Mills has been practicing his craft for over 30 years. Now he gets to showcase his works to a large audience.

NII LANTEI MILLS ARTIST "I focus very much on colour. I like to see all the colours in things people see as flat. A wall behind you, people see it as white; I like to see it as so many colours coming together to form white- the same way I see life."

This is the first art exhibition held by a group of visual artists in Ghana seeking to promote their works. It comes at a time when many of the artists are not able to hold solo exhibitions due to lack of funds. The focus for this exhibition is on young artists like Mills who are especially struggling to make it in the industry.

WIZ KUDOWOR ARTIST "Right now we do not have an industry and we are working on it. It looks like the system is not supporting the industry yet. But from this exhibition alone, I can see that the young ones are trying very hard to solidify their position in the industry, which is a good thing because when we were coming up, there was nothing of a sort."

Artists here say there are few galleries and spaces in the country available for them to display their works. They say this makes it difficult to develop a market for their craft.

NABIL AHMED RUFAI ACCRA GHANA "30 Ghanaian artists are taking part in this exhibition. They believe by coming together to display their works, it will help attract more local buyers."

Nii Lantei Mills and the other artists here will be showcasing their works for the next two weeks. Beyond this exhibition, he says he hopes Ghanaians will begin appreciating the arts better and patronize their works. NABIL AHMED RUFAI, CGTN, ACCRA, GHANA.