Adinkra: Farewell Message

Thanks to JG, for this account of the opening of Rebecca Gibbs' Adinkra exhibition (on display till 7th February)...

Further to the posting about Adinkra: Farewell Message an exhibition by Rebecca Gibbs currently running at Kuumba, Bristol.

The formal opening was well supported by Bristol's Black Community and friends. On that occasion, Almeria Cole of Kuumba introduced Rebecca who talked about the background to the exhibition and to some of the works on show.

'Rubber' provided background drum music, wine flowed and Paul Stevenson made an impromptu speech about the 'humanity' of Rebecca's work.

The event proved very timely in terms of assessing the lessons of Abolition 200, and as a follow up to the Ghana - we can do better conference.

Kuumba, it transpired from Rebecca's speech, is facing a financial crisis following the announcement of cuts in Arts Council funding. Those concerned discussed possible courses of action and signed a petition.

On Sunday 21st, Rebecca was interviewed live about the exhibition on BBC Radio Bristol. Photographs have since been taken for the local press and an interview has been recorded by Lisa Baiden for a community radio station.

• By JG

Adinkra

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'Adinkra', commonly believed to mean 'Farewell' in the Twi language, is the name given to one of the two main forms of textile preparation and presentation in Ghana, West Africa. This sentiment is better understood when the application of these iconographic designs is viewed in its traditional context. Adinkra is derived from the Akan word 'nkra' or 'nkara' meaning 'Message' or 'Intelligence'. In addition to this, the Akan word for soul is 'Okra' or 'Nkara'. We could therefore extrapolate that Adinkra is the message or acquired intelligence that the soul returns to its maker on departure from this world to the next.

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Adinkra is an exhibition of works by

Rebecca N K Gibbs, inspired by the artist's Ghanaian & British grandmothers. On display on

weekdays until February 7 @ the Kuumba Arts Centre, Bristol.

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Venue

Kummba Arts Centre

20-23 Hepburn Road
St Paul’s
Bristol
BS2 8UD

To Labadi

My short-short story, A Gong to the Past (left), published in the new ('Freedom') issue of Calabash Magazine.

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A Gong to the Past is based on a little gem of a historical snippet I heard last year about a place in Ghana called Labadi. Apparently Labadi was so named because the locals' sabotaged plans to build a slave fort on their land during the Triangular Trade.

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However, whilst the bit about the slave fort is based on fact, everything else weaved around it in the story is completely made up.

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I do remain fascinated by the history of Labadi, and will continue to dig. I have not read any reference to the slave fort sabotage anywhere. If any readers know more, do please share.