With all things Africa being the “new black” in global fashion, once again Vogue Italia’s Editor in Cheif, Franca Sozzani dared to do what her counterparts Black, White or other alike do not do. Franca Sozzani recently took an explorational mentoring tour of Africa to see for herself what the buzz about the so called “New African Fashion” was all about, so she can hopefully represent it properly &  in its authentic full spectrum outside of European & American embellishment & aesthetic. As much as many Black publications in America & Europe give lip service to the lack of  Black inclusion in publications like Vogue, where are they in seeking out & mentoring global African design talents who would love the opportunity to learn from & be showcased in their publications just as much as Vogue. For 2012 I hope we look deeper into the goings on & dealings of our own houses & try to do better by ourselves as much as we complain about what others don’t do. Say what you will, but know when to give credit where it is due & in this case Franca Sozzani has come to resurrect an economically forward moving ideal of Pan-Africanism, where it is less about shared pigmentation & more about a shared mindset toward Africa’s global fusion.  Grazie a voi vi applaudire Franca for once again doing what others only talk about!

“When Franca Sozzani, editor of Vogue Italia, visited the Huffington Post offices last month she revealed that her proudest professional moment was publishing the “Black Issue,” which helped promote diversity in the fashion industry. Well, she continued that campaign with a trip to the African country of Ghana to mentor a group of designers from the WEB-Young Designers Hub. “You have lots of potential in this country. During my stay in Africa, I visited Togo and Nigeria but it was only here in Ghana I noted an authentic sense of fashion. In designing your creations, make sure that they feature not only references to Ghanaian culture but also have an international appeal so that your garments can also be successful also abroad.” READ MORE

“In Accra Franca Sozzani met both with Kofi Ansah, a young designer from Ghana and the young talents of The WEB-Young Designers Hub, an association of local young fashion designers who hosted a runway show of their collections in her honour…” READ MORE

For many fashionistas the name Kofi Ansah maybe unfamiliar, but for those of us who are true connoisseurs of progressive avant-garde haute couture style African fashion, Kofi Ansah represents the creme de la creme of modern day icons in traditionally inspired global fashion. His global resume is long- from working with Guy Laroche in Paris & Cecil Gee in London, he has had well over 20 years building his signature aesthetic in Europe before returning to Ghana to rejuvenate & rebuild its fashion industry to become a global contender.

Kofi Ansah is by far the go to designer in Ghana who has been lauded with accolades of honor to represent the fashion of Ghana at major national celebrations. He was the winner of the prestigious Millennium 2000 African Fashion Awards along with being the chosen designer to design the highly coveted Ghana at 50 anniversary cloth fabric for the Ghana at 50 Golden Jubilee Celebration. Kofi Ansah also designed the costumes for the opening & closing ceremony of the CAN 2008 African Cup of Nations that was staged in Ghana to international acclaim. I am sure it was a great learning & giving experience for both the Vogue Italia team & Kofi Ansah along with the members of WEB because fashion is so cyclical  & global that we all have something to bring to the table to share & learn. Ghana is coming into its own in creative vibrancy in celebrating past greats such as iconic fashion Photographer James Barnor & building a future for its creatives with a strong foundation that is becoming more & more undeniable by the world. The Black Star Nation is truly shining & the world just can’t seem to get enough. As we like to say Akwaaba- Welcome to Our World!

From the Motherland to the world -WE ARE AFRICAN & WE REPRESENT: Ghana @50 Fabric By Kofi Ansah, Dress design by Onyx Noize for PGF (Product of Global Fusion)

On November 12, 2011 while visiting Ghana, I was delighted to attend a free tribute concert at Citizen Kofi in Osu dedicated to the memory of Hi-Life Music Legend Mac Tontoh- formerly of globally recognized mega Hi-Life bands Uhuru & Osibisa. Legends such as Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Jewel Ackah, Ben Brako, Gyedu Blay Ambolley along with future legends such as the daughter of Pat Thomas, Nana Yaa played their hits  backed by the talented  band & musical direction of Kwame Yeboah & his band Ohia Be Ye Ya (direct translation:Poverty will be painful) to remember, honor & celebrate the life of Mac Tontoh & his great contribution to world music & putting the music of Ghana on the global map.

As a young girl who grew up with the sounds of these legends of Hi-Life music blasting from speakers from Ghana to New York, I never imagined that I would see all these legends on one stage, in Ghana & for free on my mother’s birthday -the person who single handily introduced me to all these great historical musical legends- whose original vinyl  records I inherited when she moved  back to Ghana. All I could say was Wow! What a great treat of beautiful music from Hi-Life living legends honoring/remembering their brother & fellow legend, Mac Tontoh, who will never be forgotten! I was even more delighted that as I went to take a picture with Pat Thomas, he did a double take & told me how much I look like his daughter & that she was about to perform on stage so I should check out my sister. Well, I am not sure how much we really look alike; however she was just as beautiful as the soulful voice that came through her, so the compliment from her father was well received. I was still on a natural high the day after this concert because I danced my butt off & felt that extra special Osibi fire in my sa, which Mac Tontoh spoke of in my 2008 documentary “Black Star Rising” ! After a couple of seemingly rough unproductive weeks in Ghana, I was energized & in good spirits wanting more. This was truly a beautiful welcome home reminding me why I love my nation & why this black queen will always be empowered by the black star mogya (blood) that runs through me.

The production was a job well done by the organizers, but we need a lot more of this in Ghana in accessibility for all to celebrate, teach & learn about our cultural history through our past & living legends. Thank goodness for social media outlets like Facebook  because otherwise I would have completely missed this once in a lifetime experience since there was little talk about it amongst Ghanaians in general & in Ghanaian media. That same night there was a Daddy Lumba concert  honoring his global contribution to Ghanaian musical culture with all the extra dignitary VIP status along with the heavy price tag that the average Ghanaian couldn’t afford, yet to my surprise somehow a large portion of the audience at the FREE tribute concert to Mac Tontoh were White people & non-Ghanaian tourists, students & business people- Things that make you go HMMM!

As much as I & many Ghanaians globally love Daddy Lumba, his global contribution to the spread & preservation of Hi-Life music does not surpass or even come close to that of Mac Tontoh & Osibisa to be any more worthy of warranting the recognition & attendance of two former presidents or any more worthy than Mac Tontoh of  commanding a large amount of local media coverage recognizing a night dedicated in his honor .  It just makes me think how much we really care about our historical global legacy & why is it that we only seem to respect & see its worth after it is taken away from us, celebrated & deemed worthy globally by others outside of us?  It had to take Disney to retell & bastardize the story of the Ashanti Empire in “The Sword In The Stone“ in order for Ghanaian media outlets, animators & creatives to think to promote, educate, share & pass down the story of Okomfo Anokye to our children so that our legacy will never be forgotten in its pure form by us for us.

I can’t bypass the irony of completely overlooking the man & band who were hands down the reason why the world truly took to Hi-Life music & the power of fashionable Ghanaian musical culture in celebration of the ultimate bleached faced do-rag wearing borga,Daddy Lumba, by the pay to play Ghanaian media & two former presidents who seem to be in some sort of odd love triangle just to agitate & disrespect the sitting president whom they all seem to collectively want to see be a one term president for their own separate interests. The day after both the Mac Tontoh & Daddy Lumba tribute concerts, all you heard about in Ghanaian media was the Daddy Lumba concert & the shenanigans of Ex-President Jerry Rawlings approvingly overseeing his controversial wife Nana Konadu dance with former nemesis & Ex-President John Kufuor.  It seems everything in Ghana has political motivations even the honoring of our legends. It seems like Ghanaian media is more in the business of adverts., sponsorships & playing politics than actually holding up the integrity of true journalism in seeking out stories that are meaningful & worthwhile for Ghana as a nation instead of just who pays them to cover their stories.

Daddy Lumba is definitely a worthwhile story & worthy recipient of the accolades bestowed upon him, but just imagine if there was a tribute concert in honor of  John Lennon of the Beatles the same night as a tribute concert to Coldplay & former Prime Minsters Blair  & Gordon where all over the press about cutting a rug together at the Coldplay concert with no acknowledgement of John Lennon’s tribute the same night. The Beatles told the world “Here Comes the Sun” as they entered the world scene in a globally celebrated  British Invasion the same way Osibisa brought the world a “Sunshine Day” as they entered the world scene with their globally celebrated authentic Ghanaian musical invasion. Cold Play like Lumba are the new generation & new faces of their national culture of music globally, yet we can never overlook the fact that without The Beatles & Osibisa there may not be a Coldplay & Lumba attaining vast global audiences & their contributions are no where near to walking in the shoes or overlooking the legacies of The Beatles & Osibisa even to be able to say that the baton has been passed on to them to run with so to me to have little recognition of Mac Tontoh’s tribute by his nation seemed disrespectful to me particularly on the part of the media.

I was happy to be at the politics free tribute to Mac Tontoh, a night that I will never forget & will one day tell my children about because the legacy of Mac Tontoh & Osibisa is forever. It never seems to fail, just when I am over the unique madness of Ghana/Africa & ready to get out of dodge, I am surprised with the goodness & greatness that always makes me want to stay longer! My ♥ /hate relationship with my Black Star Nation continues as I remain thankful & grateful for all its roses along with its thorns! Forward Ever , Backward Never!

“Come with me on this happy trip back to the promise land ,all will be happy & gay…You’ve been kept down for much too long…Stand Up Please, Say I am free… Don’t Forget You Are Always Welcomed home…WELCOME HOME!!!”

“We must perform like Ghanaian, and for that matter Africans. My advise is that whatever we do, should be African /Ghanaian oriented and that is what will win the trophy for us in the industry,” Mac Tontoh -REST IN POWER!

Spring of the Artful Renaissance: Creating an Innovative Eco-Chic World Where Art Meets Technology

Immediate Release

Friday, May 13th 2011, MoCADA located at 80 Hanson Place in Brooklyn, NY will host Spring of the Artful Renaissance: Creating an Innovative Eco-Chic World Where Art Meets Technology, preparing & giving the tools of an open door to endless possibilities in creativity for the new generation of future leaders. Spring of the Artful Renaissance: Creating an Innovative Eco-Chic World Where Art Meets Technology is an artists & art connoisseur’s fundraiser event benefiting the Summer 2011 Street Academy Project in Accra, Ghana. The TKAFoundation in association with AKOSIA aims to bring awareness and to make the dreams of 40 children from the Street Academy come true this summer as they learn & enjoy a creative filmmaking journey that brings storytelling to life by writing, creating, directing and producing two short films on their own.

The TKAFoundation (Tomorrow’s Kaleidoscope of Artists Foundation) is the brainchild of filmmaker Sam Kessie, born in London to Ghanaian parents who later raised her in Ghana where she developed her love for filmmaking as a way to cross-global boundaries. TKAFoundation was created to support the global arts community by fundraising & contributing to charities that encourage arts education. TKAFoundation’s 2011 charity of choice is AKOSIA, a non-profit organization that develops and facilitates creative projects for underprivileged children and women all over the world. For the past two summers, (2009/2010), the AKOSIA team has been in Accra, Ghana working with the students from the Street Academy – a school that provides free education to children aged 8-18, as well as uniforms, books, and a decent meal each day for abandoned and homeless youth in Accra. The aim of the month long filmmaking program is to provide underprivileged youth with tools and technical skills where necessary, in order to produce their own films as independently as possible. The TKAFoundation for the 2011 summer project will join the cause to provide an engaging and safe environment where underprivileged children’s natural abilities can be expressed and nurtured, while providing a way out of poverty with useful skills in an ever growing African Film Industry that has rebuilt itself from the ground up with local skills & funding to create an internationally recognized multi-million to billion dollar industry within the last decade.

Come & Join TKAFoundation, tastemakers, innovators, artists & art connoisseurs from 6-9PM at MoCADA as they set the direction for the future of art in its collaborations & dedication to giving back to future generations. Be part of the Spring of the Artful Renaissance as you indulge in a special cocktail fundraiser that will entertain, inform and inspire everyone who attends to see the future promise of global art collaborations. There will be an opening reception cocktail, an auction, a fashion showcase featuring clothes and accessories from several designers including Onyz Noiz, PGF (Product of Global Fusion), Wow Wow by Wunmi, Kira Sherrine, Farai Simoyi along with performances by two amazing African Diasporan artists M3NSA (London/Ghana) and Iyadede (Brooklyn/Rwanda). This free fun-filled fundraiser’s goal is to raise  $10,000, which will go towards our 2011 summer program in Accra, Ghana with AKOSIA.

Support the TKAFoundation and AKOSIA as we make a difference by helping young children discover themselves artfully. In our commitment to AKOSIA, we aim to impact the less fortunate and less encouraged in some way through something as magical as art and in turn, help work toward eradicating poverty through arts education.

If you can’t attend the event but still want to support TKAFoundation and AKOSIA on their summer program you can still give support through our website: http://www.indiegogo.com/AKOSIA

For more information about our cause please visit one of our sites
www.tkafoundation.org
www.akosia.org
Press Contact:
Aretha A. Sarfo
VISIONS Entertainment & Publicity/Global Fusion Productions Inc.
P: 212-280-0699 /E: aretha@visionspublicity.com or info@globalfusionproductions.com

March 13, 2010 will be the ultimate matchup of two great champions, Ghana’s pride & Bukom’s finest, Clottey VS. Pacquiao. I called this match-up between Clottey & Pacquaio during the Cotto VS. Pacquiao fight, as I posted a picture of the yummy empanadas that my girl, Estela made with this caption: “Fight night food – every nation has their own version of a pattie- tonight I am eating the empanadas cuz I’m outnumbered, but Pacquiao is about 2 serve the Philippine version then Clottey will decide who should b served the Ghanaian version-LOL- what version of the patty r u serving?” Well, as we all know my prediction was right because Pacquiao served up some serious Siopao. Just in case you are wondering,Yes, females like boxing too & we make fight night sexy with some real classy home cooking, grown & sexy style!

We all know that the Cotto VS Clottey fight was a bit shady in the final decision, given it was the night before the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York, a city with over 800 thousand citizens of Puerto Rican ethnicity with thousands of them representing in Madison Square Garden- Hmm -I guess it was best to avoid a riot, but I definitely want to see a rematch.

Saturday, March 13th -Bukom’s own Joshua Clottey will face off with Phillipines’s own Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao as he defends his WBO welterweight title . Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas will be the place of the showdown at 9:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM PT & televised on HBO. I must say I love Pacquiao & have always rooted for him in his fights. Pacquiao is a powerful fighter who “ain’t never scared” & is full of humility & a type of passion for the sport that just exudes thru him in every fight. He avenged Cotto for Clottey in his last fight, but today- no can do -the fufu gang is in full effect mode & I will be rooting for the black star nation to rise. Ghana is not just known for great footballers, but also for great boxers. Any boxing aficionado has heard of the great Azumah Nelson, another product of Ghana’s boxing home, Bukom, located in the capital city of Accra. All of Ghana & Africa will be channeling the power of “the professor”, Azumah Nelson to come through Clottey for the ultimate lesson in victory!

Today all of Africa will stand up from Brixton to the Bronx, from Accra city to Lagos town. The screams echoing through millions of African voices in thousands of African languages will be heard in sports bars, chop bars & homes around the world as the fufu, guinness, jaloff & black star beer flows & the apeteshie gets poured for libation to call upon & in honor of our ancestors to watch over & bring forth a champion in its continental son of the black star nation! Tonight we will be talking African smack as we tell Pacquiao -”You are fufu soft so, chale mek u no try”-LOL! “This decade is Africa’s decade, forward then to the United States of Africa”, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s words to God’s ears, as we root for our brother Joshua Clottey to be victorious, not only for Ghana but also for all of Africa! Osei ye!!!! Joshua Clottey pronounced Clo..Tay not clot..ti-LOL! Obruni ooo -pronounce our names correctly-LOL! Osei Ye!!!

8/9/09
Let’s just say the day didn’t start off on a good foot because I had not slept at all the night before because I was overwhelmed with packing. Of course family members have to overload my luggage with stuff to give everyone back home in Ghana –many of which they can easily get in Ghana, but for some reason bringing it from the US gives it more cachet or makes it somehow better. Figuring out how to pack it all without having to pay close to $300 for excess baggage, which Deltas rips off their customers for, since they are the only airline with such exorbitant fees for going over 50 pounds was no easy task. My cousin’s wonderful husband was gracious enough to drive me to the airport & surprisingly everything went smoothly at the airport, so I could just relax & await the flight.

So the journey has begun once again, back to my mama’s land, the motherland, the Black Star Nation, Ghana! This time a little wiser, a little more learned about the so called “Ghanaian mentality” & a lot more tolerant while building on the precise beautiful art of patience. In this land everyone is at their own pace with an extreme abundance of pride or “twae”, but after all what do you expect from the Black Star Nation who showed herself to be the leader of Africa 52 years ago in her independence & the call for all her brothers & sisters to join her revolutionary evolution for freedom & independence Now – for & by Africans! 52 years later the “Nkrumah like” first of Barack Obama comes to remind the world once again that Ghana/Ghanaians are the model he & the rest of the world wants to see for Africa, so you best believe that the pride is high, but we’re moving on- that is as an elder Ghanaian said to me –if we can get past some of the ignorance in behavior & thought process.

It’s happening as I write this. I am on my way to Accra on Delta, one of the worst airlines in terms of customer service, but unfortunately it’s the only airline that flies direct to Ghana from New York. Sitting next to me is a Ghanaian who did his masters & phd in the USA & decided he wanted to go back to Ghana to build on the blueprint of excellence in education, which Nkrumah had started, by building a private international school in Kumasi where excellence is not only expected from the students but from the faculty & the infrastructure where they gather, eat, learn & excel, thru a focus on the sciences. Within a 10 year period of conceiving this idea & bringing it to fruition, Dr. Yeboah now has one of the best primary/secondary schools in Kumasi that is beautifully done to rival any day/boarding school in Ghana & abroad. I didn’t have my own private/self-contained bathroom in my room at the boarding school of the elite in the US that I was privileged enough to have gained a scholarship for, but in Today’s Ghana it’s part of the staple –Chale mek u no try- because we are coming up & the movement is being led by those of us who have been educated, lived & travelled abroad; fed up with the so called American Europe dream as we watch foreigners/foreign investors live their dreams in our homeland without much benefit to the average everyday Ghanaian. Many ex-pat Ghanaians & now even their children born & raised abroad have chosen to come back to give back to the nation that gave us our power & more vim to be able to make it anywhere with excellence as we keep the black star shining & rising-Nkrumah’s exact road & blueprint in full effect! Dr. Yeboah is on the plane with about 20 or so children from his school, who as little Pricilla AKA Serwaa ,with her innate sense of politeness that is second to none in Ghana & the sweetest of voices tells me, they were on a sponsored tour to Chicago & New York- one of the international/global educational tools that is incorporated in the curriculum of the school. Pricilla proceeds to tell me how she wanted to tell the flight attendant “Delta knows they are going to Ghana why don’t you serve us some jalof rice or something”. I laugh & shake my head knowing just how right this young lady is & recognizing that she is a powerhouse in the best ways possible & will one day perhaps be heralded amongst other great intelligent females who represent the best in country, womanhood & firsts such as Hilary Clinton, Sonia Sotomayor, Michelle Obama & Yaa Asantwaa . I am filled with so much joy & hope for Today’s Ghana as I watch the founder of the school, teachers & students interact in a way that is more family than pupils & as the African-American flight attendant sits next to the founder of the school & me hoping we can help her find a good school for a young 16 year old Ghanaian boy who she has taken to & is determined to help in Ghana. She tells us the story of how she met him at the art center on her travels to Ghana & he had confided in her his dream of becoming a doctor, even though his parents are pushing him to be a footballer because they believe he will make more money quickly so he can take care of them.

This woman has no known blood relation to this young man except for the fact that she sees Ghana as home as an African-American & has become the embodiment of the Ghanaian proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”, by just choosing to stand up to do her part in being the change she would like to see in the world. She has dedicated herself to helping this young man live his dream of becoming a doctor & has decided to call on her village of friends to help out financially or with just something as simple as information to make sure he is in the right environment for learning, so that he becomes someone whose dream is realized instead of another one of many whose dreams are deferred because of lack of funding, access or that one person it takes to believe in a young person’s dream in order for he/she to really go for it & believe that it is possible! Today’s Ghana is about Change & Forward Ever & I am delighted to have the privilege to be on this journey with a resurrected Black Star vim to build on this blueprint!

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