Exhibit:
Celebrating Ghana Through Children's Art

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	Some of the artists
More art from Ghana:

Celebrating Ghana Through Children's Art

• March 14 – April 26; opening, Friday, March 14, 7:30PM

Celebrating Ghana Through Children’s Art continues the MHCGallery’s commitment to bring positive messages to Manitobans about places we tend to stereotype or know little about. Situated along the humid shores of the Atlantic and stretching north towards Burkina Faso and the dry Sahel, Ghana is a beacon of hope in a region beset by recent conflicts – its neighbour to the west, Ivory Coast, being the latest casualty. Ghanaians are renowned for their friendliness. The legendary Ashanti Kingdom and Kente Cloth are found in Ghana. It is a country rich in art and culture.

While living in Ghana, Winnipegger Kathy Knowles dreamt of opening libraries for Ghanaian children. Her dream has become a reality more than one hundred times over. Recently she returned with stories out of a rough and tumble area of the capital, Accra, where people are noticing children on the street are better behaved than in the past and are crediting that change in behavior to the new libraries and their programs.

The Winnipeg connection to inspirational and inspired children in Ghana led the MHCGallery to ask Knowles if she might be interested in helping bring together an exhibition of children’s art coming out of the libraries. Knowles needed to hire someone for an internship. As a result of the gallery’s asking about the exhibit she made sure the intern hired was an artist. Calgary artist Anu Guha-Thakurta moved to Ghana in 2002 to work in the libraries and to bring together the exhibition.

Ghana is also a country with a rich recent artistic tradition. The gallery wishes to celebrate that fact while it hails the work of the children. Kwasi Nyarko, a Ghanaian art dealer, was contacted and asked to supply originals and prints by some of Ghana’s prominent contemporary artists. A grouping of recent works by internationally renowned artists such as Wiz and Dr. Ablade Glover accompanies the children’s exhibition.

Come celebrate Ghana, its artists, both future and current. You’re sure to leave the gallery better informed and with a smile.