The Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa(MIASA) at the University of Ghana, Legon together with its Artist-in-Residence, Sela Adjei have held an art exhibition at the Museum of Science and Technology in Accra.
The art exhibition is running for a period of one month, from March 6 to April 6, 2025 and is open to not only members of the academic fraternity but all art lovers as well as the general public.
The well attended and colourful event drew participation from academia, art lovers, selected journalists, and the public.
Speaking on behalf of the Co-Directors of the Institute, Professor Grace Diabah(Ghana) reiterated the core aims of the Institute that focuses on expanding high quality academic research into the various field of knowledge in the Humanities across the African continent.
She further intimated that the interests of the Institute and its funding partners is to disseminate its research findings across not only hardcore Humanities subject areas ,but include arts, music which reflect the cherished traditions of the indigenous history of the continent to affect policy decisions that affect the lives of the entire population.
“On behalf of the Co-Directors of MIASA(Ghana and Germany), myself and Professor Mamadou Diawara, we welcome you to this august event being curated by our excellent Artist-in-Residence , Dr. Sela Adjei over the next one month.
At MIASA, we are committed to providing critical research in the various disciplines in the Humanities across the African continent which is targeted at influencing policy decisions that affect the quality of life of citizens by providing much needed resources to exceptional and dedicated African scholars like Dr. Sela Adjei and his contemporaries.
The Institution aims to create a strong core of dedicated and exceptional African academics(with a focus on youth) who can compete favourably across the globe with their colleagues to create solid works that challenge the existing status quo, as well as expand the frontiers of knowledge production from Africa to the international stage”.
Also, the Artist-in-Residence, Dr. Sela Adjei intimated the art exhibition was themed on the people of Nkonya and Alavanyo in the Volta Region and their persistent issues of land conflicts which has existed for over a century with no end in sight despite government interventions.
He added that his interest in the Nkonya-Alavanyo land issue piqued in 2015 when he as a PhD student took a course in Ethnography of conflicts in Ghana ,where the group had to take a field trip to the conflict areas to get a deeper understanding of the pre existing issues of the indigenous people .
The core aim of the exhibition , he reiterated is to draw the intention of the government , local stakeholders and prominent policy makers to take concrete and decisive steps to solve the issue that has become an intergenerational conflict with the victims being people who were not born in the early beginnings of the conflict over a century ago.
“I was deeply touched by the prevailing issues in the Alavanyo-Nkonya area, when I took a course in 2015 as part of my PhD programme titled “Ethnography of Conflicts in Ghana” ,where we had to take a trip to the location to get the full facts regarding the land conflict which has persisted for over a century.
As academics, we are not only bound to produce research or bodies of knowledge but rather, we must be guided to draw outcomes from our work that guide policy formulation by governments to address the challenges of the residents as well in these areas.
The core aim of this project I put together is to draw the attention of the government, local stakeholders, development partners to the harsh realities of this conflict which has become intergenerational and affecting the youth, most of whom were not born when the conflict started over hundred years ago and may not have had the full reasons for the disagreements.
As a matter of fact, art like music draws us closer as a people with a unique identity irrespective of our seeming differences and that is why I decided to use my art form to tell the full picture of the results of the never ending conflict and how it can curtail the full potentials of the residents in both communities if the outstanding issues are left to prevail.
Please as my guests here, let us all be peace agents and ambassadors on this issue to educate others on the need to be peaceful collaborators to achieve the ultimate aim of societal development”.
Efo Sela Adjei is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher, and curator with degrees in Communication Design, and African art and culture from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science of Technology, Kumasi.
He received his PhD in African Studies from the University of Ghana, Legon in 2015. His doctoral research focused on Ewe Vodu art and philosophy.
Efo Sela’s artist career has spanned 12 years, participated in 25 exhibitions both home and abroad, in addition to 8 solo exhibitions to boot.
He has also consulted for international organizations like the World Bank, Oxford University, and Utrecht University, amongst others.
