Proffesor Ablade Glover has expressed worry over why Ghana, as a country, does not have even one art gallery and seems not to give art the neccessary attention it deserves as other country’s do.
Speaking in an interview on Friday 9 December 2022, Prof Glover said, “My woes, my trouble, I wonder why up to this day, this nation hasn’t woken up, hasn’t come to the realisation that art is important. To him art is the very basis of our cultural sphere and so, must be taken seriously by the authorities.
“Listen, you would sell one art and it will save this whole nation, and we need to develop our artists so that they will reach that level and all they do, those who will reach that level, is to promote the artist to spend money, some small peanut; it’s like growing, nurturing a situation.”
Prof Ablade
Prof Ablade further lamented asking, “Do you know we have no art gallery in the country? This nation is like a country that has no hospital,” he noted.
According to him, the country trains artists and they come out and they end up working in the banks and other sectors. “They go to be teachers, they go to do anything and you don’t even give them the encouragement to practice.” he stated.
Prof Glover disclosed that he decided to establish the Artists Alliance Gallery to fill the art void in the nation.
“That is why I came into retirement and I thought, ‘no, no, no; it’s too much’, and so, I came in with the Artists Alliance Gallery.
“I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people in power and everybody thinks ‘that man is crazy’, they think I’m crazy because all you talk about is art and the promotion and selling of art; so, I thought I would do something about it. That is the result of the Artists Alliance Gallery.”
Prof Ablade
About Prof Ablade And Arts
Trained in Ghana, the UK, and the USA, Prof Ablade Glover has accumulated many distinctions that underline his significance as an artist and educator, both in Ghana and across the international art scene.
Prof Glover’s work reveals his vibrant passion for life, activity and colour, according to the renowned London-based October Gallerylong established for exhibiting contemporary, international, avant-garde works.
Using warm impastoed pigments to express the sun and heat of his country, Prof Glover depicts animated landscapes that mirror the exuberant diversity of Africa: its bustling market stalls, brightly attired crowds, and the dynamic energy that is Ghana. October Gallery first showed the distinctive canvases of Ablade Glover in 1982, in one of the first shows at the Gallery of an artist from the continent of Africa.
Prof Ablade’s work can be found in collections such as the Imperial Palace Collection, Tokyo, Japan; UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France; Africa First Collection, Tel Aviv, Israel; and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, USA. He has been exhibited extensively in West Africa, Europe, the USA, and Japan.
Prof Glover also occupies a major position in Ghana’s contemporary art scene, as the Founder and Director of the internationally acclaimed Artists Alliance Gallery in Accra, Ghana.
READ ALSO: Teacher Licensure Examinations: 44,000 Teachers Fail, Results Worrying -Christian Addai
