A lecturer at the Faculty of Applied Arts and Technology at the Takoradi Technical University, Mr. Joshua Anim, has called on Visual Arts students
to be creative and innovative in producing artworks to attract the right customers and gain financial buoyancy in the arts industry.
According to Mr. Anim, segmenting, targeting, and positioning are crucial strategies to attract customers and give credence to one’s work.
He also advised against putting all elements in one artwork and admonished artists to release their elements in phases. He hinted that when
artists release their talents in bits, it adds up to their work and puts their customers in constant expectation and, as such, makes the artist
reap enough from his works.
He made these known at the symposium for Arts and Tourism Industry players at the Youth Centre in Sekondi as part of the maiden Sàkeva Transnational
Cultural Festival celebrations.
Mr. Anim reiterated the need for an Artist to consider product design, innovation and forecasting in all artworks to be able to produce for the target groups and ensure quick sales. He added that location is a factor in adding value to their works, and urged them to consider locations in marketing their wares. He again advised students to positively use social media and start producing artwork for sale while schooling. “This will make you less dependent on your parent and boost your professionalism after school”, he added. On his part, Mr. Isaac Danso, who spoke on behalf of the Western Regional Director of Ghana Tourism Authority, noted that the Authority holds the Arts and Crafts sector dear to all its activities, pointing out that the works of Artists complement the tourism industry. He added that the works of artists displayed at tourist sites help attract people to such areas as some monuments attached to these sites are only but the works of artists.
The second part of the session event saw eight second-cycle schools participating in a drawing contest where St. Johns School placed first, followed by Adiembra SHS and Shama SHS placing third. The winning schools received cash prizes and certificates for their outstanding performances. The Communications and Visibility Officer for the programme, Mr. John Laste, pointed out that the awards were not to leave any school out as it is a learning process for all. He indicated that the programme was geared towards boosting the morale of schools to work harder for greater achievements.