The Eastern Regional Theatre will be the venue for this year’s National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC 2018).
The complex is almost complete with a 1,500-seater theatre, craft shops and offices for both staff of the Centre for National Culture and artistic groups in the region.
This was disclosed by the Regional Director for National Culture, Mr. Stephen Sedofu, when the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Catherine Abelema Afeku, paid a surprise visit to ascertain progress of work.
Mr Sefofu assured the nation that the complex would be ready for NAFAC, which comes off in Koforidua from November 16 to November 24. He said he was more than satisfied with the rate of work by the contractor, adding that “work goes on even at weekends.”
The Eastern Regional Theatre is one of four slated for refurbishment and/or completion by the Akufo-Addo administration before the end of 2018. The rest are the Northern Regional Theatre in Tamale, Ashanti Regional Theatre in Kumasi and Western Regional Theatre in the Fijai area.
The theme for NAFAC 2018 is: ‘Empowering the Youth through Culture, Tourism and Creative Arts for Employment and Wealth Creation’. The event will present lectures, open forums, exhibitions and performances. The exhibitions will expose Ghanaian architecture, fabric and clothing, wood products, cuisine, food, beverages, performing arts, literary arts, visual arts, physical culture, sports/games. It will be climaxed with a traditional beauty pageant and an awards night.
In a chat with the staff of the centre, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister directed the National Commission on Culture to ensure that programming for this year’s NAFAC targets the youth.
She observed that over the years, the aged in society had been participating in NAFAC programmes mostly, besides artists and other cultural actors. This should be a thing of the past.
The minister reasoned: “If culture is dynamic and the future belongs to the youth, why don’t we plan culture with the future in mind? While we must embrace the ‘Sankofa’ concept, we must not fail to appreciate that the ‘sankofa’ bird itself has only its head pointing backward; the rest, that is, 95 per cent of its body, is looking to the future,”:
Mrs Afeku referred to this year’s theme and said while the youth must be taught and made to show interest in their heritage, among other things, programmers and marketers must be reminded that the world cannot afford to remain in the past forever, adding that “if we do that, we shall be left behind. We shall become fossils.”