Deepening Connections: Ghana Museums and Monuments Board Partners for Exhibition

The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB), in collaboration with Global Linkages, African American and Ghanaian Quilters has launched an exhibition titled “Stitching Cultures Together” aimed at deepening the bond between Africa and its diaspora.

The initiative forms part of the “Beyond the Return” campaign, which seeks to sustain the momentum of the 2019 “Year of Return” and strengthens the ties with the global African community through arts, culture and heritage.

Mr Kingsley Ofosu-Ntiamoah, Acting Executive Director of GMMB, at the launch said, the exhibition was to connect with people of African descent and bring them home.

“The initiative was to enable them engage meaningfully with their heritage and not just for visits and pleasure,” he said.

Mrs Warner Kate Johnson, the Founder of Global Linkages, said it was important to engage the diaspora community as many of her artists had never been to Africa.

“We are excited to see how they embrace our culture and contribute to it through their creativity. Since the Global Linkages started working in Ghana in 1993, we have been encouraging people predominantly of African American descent to come to Africa, not just to see it, but to engage with the people,” she said.

Mrs Johnson said the exhibition had already connected with the lives of over 30 artists and there were plans to expand its reach through a “Teach One, Reach One” initiative” to make people fall in love with Africa.

The exhibition, running until October 18, showcases stunning quilts that tell stories of empowerment, rejoicing, and protection and whilst the textiles tell stories of resilience and joy, the threads bind Africans across oceans and connect hearts and cultures.

It aims at uniting African American art quilters with emerging Ghanaian art quilters as “Sisters of the Cloth,” a drama on the transatlantic slave trade is reconnecting, using fabric and thread to bridge that divide.

The drama talks about collective stories and highlights the diverse fabrics, textures and techniques used in textile art whilst its narrative celebrates the blending of cultures and emphasises the shared heritage, promotion of fellowship, community, friendship, unity and lasting impact of the global pandemic.