Open defecation in Ghana discouraged through art

Over 50 Ghanaian artists have responded to a call to use art to play a critical role in eliminating open defecation in the country where about 5 million people attend to nature’s call in the open.

Dubbed ‘Let’s Talk Sh*t’, the Alliance Francaise in Accra in collaboration with UNICEF launched the programme on Tuesday calling for proposals from painters, sculptors, photographers and videographers among others on using art to generate dialogue on the subject.

The UNICEF representative in Ghana, Susan Namondo Ngongi, in a statement supported the choice of name for the programme meant to “generate attention on the matters using colloquial words”.

“We should not be ashamed of using the word sh*t. What is shocking is the fact that 5 million Ghanaians are defecating in the open and that 43% of schools are not equipped with proper sanitation or even do not have water!,” she said.

Among the submissions to be received by August, only the best 20 projects will be commissioned, followed by a series of exhibitions in the presence of the artists in Accra in September and then in some selected regions affected by open defecation, Alliance Francaise Project Manager, Nana Osei Kwadwo said.

“It is important to challenge the social and cultural norms and artists can play a critical role in contributing to the elimination of open defecation through visual arts,” an official from Ghana’s Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Kweku Quansah said at the launch.

Let’s Talk Sh*t is expected to present an opportunity for Ghanaian artists to go beyond beauty and decoration and engage in social issues.