Mr. Andrew Egyapa Mercer, the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, has unveiled the Creative Arts Wall of Fame, at Asemensudo, a suburb of Sekondi, in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis.
The Wall is to honour and immortalise the names of some notable individuals from the Western Region who had contributed significantly to the growth and development of the creative arts industry in Ghana.
They include Paapa Yankson, Nana Bosompra, Charles K. Mann, Jewel Ackah, Alfred Benjamin Crentsil, Ebo Taylor and Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, who were all musicians.
The rest are Felicia Ewuraesi Abban, a photographer, and Kwaw Ansa, also a creative artist.
Mr. Mercer, speaking at a ceremony to unveil the wall, said the move was part of the Ministry’s mandates to honour and preserve the legacies of those whose hard work had brought the creative arts industry to where it was now.
He said the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) would promote the Wall as one of the tourist attraction sites within the Sekondi-Takoradi enclave to help boost economic growth in the area.
“The expectation is that because we have very prominent musicians whose music is already known worldwide, and have been inducted onto the wall of fame, people would love to come and see it, so this will generate the requisite traffic to the area and help boost economic activities,” he stated.
Mr. Akwasi Agyeman, the Chief Executive Officer of the GTA, commended the Tourism Minister for building the wall, and said it would boost the tourism potential of Sekondi-Takoradi.
He said: “In the sector that we are, we have seen many great men and women who have become trailblazers for what we can do and achieve so it is in order that we honour our heroes who have led the way in the creative arts industry.”
Mr. Henry Yeleduor, the Western Regional GTA Director, said the monument would add to the numerous tourist sites in the region, and pledged to market the place to attract more visitors to the area.
Nana Kwaw Ansa, one of the halls of famers, expressed gratitude to the Tourism Minister and his team for honouring them and preserving their legacies for generations yet unborn.
GNA