The purpose of this study was to construct a concise historical narrative of the formation, development, survival and internationalisation of the Ghana Bigshots Band. It is quite unusual for a pop band to emerge from a Ghanaian university and still survive after school, considering both the academic and industry challenges. The Ghana Bigshots Band, arguably Ghana’s first modern ‘Afro-fusion’ band emerged from a university and came to international prominence. The band has broken the myth of the ‘ivory tower’, where the academia disassociates itself from the realities of the society. Employing interview and documentary research for data collection, the paper consequently unravels that the transition from students’ pop band to a trans-African international band was capital intensive. However, the consistency of maintaining an African identity in the band’s compositions and the ideology of blending tradition and modernity accounted for its survival and internationalisation. This study, is, therefore, recommended as a roadmap for student-musicians who wish to take their craft beyond the academic enclave.

Kinetic art is a genre that artists explore to create motion in their works. There are two types of kinetic sculpture practices existing in Nigeria. The first is the traditional kinetic sculpture practice which is the earliest type. The second type is the contemporary kinetic sculpture practice. The first is generally referred to as traditional masquerade that requires human actuation. It is currently being threatened by the emergence of foreign religion and modernity that has classified them as fetish. While, the second type of sculpture practice that needs stimuli such as mechanical, electrical devices; or natural means such as wind or air-current has not been fully entrenched in Nigerian artistic environment. This paper therefore x-rayed these kinetic sculpture practices in Nigeria with a view to highlighting their importance to the socio-cultural and economic development of contemporary Nigeria. Some selected traditional and contemporary kinetic sculptures were critically  appraised to determine their character, roles and prospects in contemporary Nigeria society. It was observed that masquerades which were found in most cultures in Nigeria are gradually going extinct. While very little impact has been made in contemporary kinetic sculpture. If both traditional and contemporary sculpture practices are preserved, harnessed and synergised, they would bring about radical kinetic art sensibility in Nigerian artistic landscape and boost tourism potentials for Nigeria.

Dance education in Ghana has undergone rapid transformation as a result of the dynamic political atmosphere Ghana has experienced over the period covering pre-colonial and post-colonial eras. During the pre-colonial era, dance was an integral part of the worldview of communities in Ghana and its education was viewed as a critical aspect of the continued survival of the communities. As power shifted into the hands of the colonial masters, the promotion of indigenous performing arts, including dance, were seriously marginalised. Efforts expended to revitalise dance education in Ghana, during the post-colonial era, has achieved little success, particularly at the basic and secondary levels of the educational system. This paper is a review dance education as it existed before the advent of Europeans on the soil of Ghana, the colonial as well as the post-colonial eras. The history is presented within the framework of the critical education theory, which postulates power negotiation and its rippling effect on educational policies. Varied political systems that have spun over the history of Ghana and their impact in the promotion of dance education in Ghana are reviewed. Reflections indicate that political power and systems have the ability to control the development of a philosophy that guides the policies and practices of educational system in Ghana. Possible implications are that if efforts are not expended to revitalise dance education in Ghana then this aspect of Ghanaian culture is heading towards extinction.

This article provides a discussion on Ghanaian Ceramics and how expressions have opened up in the visual art especially in the medium of ceramics to bring Ghanaian Ceramics onto the international scene. It looks at how colonialism impacted the Ghanaian Art scene and the lack of visibility due to the Western canon and privileging particular art forms, schools and exhibitions. It discusses how the Faculty of Art at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has had significant role in building connections to the international and how the foundation for a stronger ceramics programme and practiced were developed. Through reforms and emancipatory directions from some faculty members and practitioners, contemporary Ghanaian ceramic practice is emerging on the global scene and creating connections with the global fraternity. The new  practice is becoming vital, forward looking, and imminently contemporary. The works produced currently by Ghanaian ceramic artists are strengthened by rich and diverse forms of traditional Ghanaian ceramics and Ghanaian cultural traditions broadly with less limitations to materiality and form.