Ivan Quashigah
Filmmaker and producer, Ivan Quashigah, has made a passionate appeal on the Government of Ghana to support the stakeholders in the creative arts industry in the country, amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
According to the filmmaker, stakeholders in the industry who, for some time now have been providing jobs for many Ghanaians have been strapped for cash since the ban on public gathering came into force.
In an interview with George Quaye on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, Ivan Quashigah said “it is not like we can work from home, you have to be on set, we have to be in the editing studio to work, we work as teams. Most of the time when we are shooting commercials, we have more than 25 people on set, so it is very difficult (at this time).”
He mentioned that he and many other colleagues were struggling to pay their workers and utility bills since their contracts and projects had been indefinitely put on hold.
The producer revealed that many of the creative arts industry stakeholders might have to lay off workers if help does not come, adding that people will go hungry and the effect will be far greater on the economy.
He further stated that some creative arts stakeholders for the meantime were looking for other innovative ways to push their work and earn some income.
Meanwhile the President of the Creative Arts Council, Mark Okraku Mantey, has also added his voice to the call on the government to support the stakeholders in the creative arts industry.
He said the government should dedicate some monies to the creative industry for the purpose of educating the public about Covid-19.
According to him, such funding, when made available, will be given to stakeholders, who include actors, actresses and musicians, to create movies and songs aimed at educating the masses on Covid-19.
At a meeting with president Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, Mark Okraku Mantey said since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, there had been discussions on entertainment platforms regarding the importance of using creative people to help create awareness about the disease.