Mr. Hebert Krapa, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthen the capacity of the creative arts sector to promote development.

He said, “If we promote our art, we bring our heritage to life.

Mr. Krapa was speaking at the second edition of the “Sound Out” premium art exhibition organized by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Beyond the Return initiative.

Other partners supporting the weeklong exhibition are the Ghana Investment Promotion Center and the Ghana Exim Bank.

During the exhibition, which starts on August 21 and ends on August 27, 2021, 32 exceptional talents are on display.

Total revenue for the industrial arts and crafts sub-sector in 2019 was $ 14.5 million, compared to $ 12.8 million in 2018.

He said the artists were mostly traditional bearers; they carry the beautiful and cultural significance of a community or country shaped and shaped by many generations before, and transpose them to contemporary times.

The deputy minister said that under the leadership of President Nana Akufo-Addo, the Creative Arts Fund Bill has been enacted and the new Creative Arts Agency has been established to support the arts industry in Ghana. .

He said that the implementation of the ECOWAS trade liberalization program and the trade facilitation policies developed by the ministry have contributed immensely to the overall growth of the industrial arts and crafts sub-sector.

Mr. Krapa said the ministry will continue to support GEPA and other partner agencies to fulfill its mandate of building the capacity of industry players to promote exports and export diversification.

He urged all artists and curators to fully participate in the upcoming 2021 Intra-African Trade Fair to be held in Durban, November 15-21, 2021.

Nana Asante Bediatuo, Executive Secretary of the Office of the President, congratulated GEPA for working on its mandate of supporting Ghana’s industrial arts and crafts sector.

He said it was time for the country to pay much more attention to using platforms such as these to nurture the art industry and strengthen businesses to have a solid foundation. in the African Continental Free Trade Area.

He said the convenience and efficiency that technology brought to this generation shouldn’t put an end to creative manual labor.

“Indeed, it rather presents a way for these attractive works to have a large global audience with the power of the Internet,” he added.

Dr Afua Asabea Asare, Managing Director of GEPA, said that the interventions they support as an agency are mainly aimed at strengthening the quality and production capacity of the export sectors, to enable them to meet the demands. which result from making noise about “Export Ghana Export More.”

She said their support was aligned with one of the key pillars of Ghana’s National Export Development Strategy which was launched in the last quarter of 2020.

The Strategy’s goal is to achieve sales of $ 25.3 billion by 2029.

“We can only achieve this if we mobilize the resources and focus on the key pillars that have been well thought out,” she added.

She said the art exhibition aligned with the third pillar which was to build capacity for industrial export development and commercialization.

The CEO said the intention was to build this Sound Out platform to a level where artists from across the continent would demand to present their pieces at this annual festival.