By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, March 28, GNA-Mr Thomas Fynn, a renowned Ghanaian international photographer, in partnership with the Central Regional Centre for National Culture (CNC), has mounted a four-day photo exhibition in Cape Coast to invigorate the 2026 Ghana Heritage Month celebrations.
Dubbed the “Black Star Experience Exhibition”, the expo was strategically mounted in the Palaver Hall of the historic Cape Coast Castle from Tuesday, March 20, 2026, to Friday, March 27, 2026.
The exhibition brightening up the emotive journey of the hundreds of tourists who walked through the castle’s dark and horrific dungeons.
The exhibition was held under the auspices of the Ministry Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, and the National Commission on Culture and it displayed a uniquely glimmering tapestry of cultural and natural heritage, political history, and physical and social transformation over the last five decades.
The photos featured hundreds of nostalgic moments and heritages from 1976 covering festivals and traditional leadership, rites of passage, funeral traditions, traditional cuisines, political transitions and national milestones, forests, landscapes, diaspora reconnections, communities and people, world events among others.
The expo was also a significant part of activities marking Mr Fynn’s golden jubilee in photography.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Friday, Mr Fynn explained that the exhibition was intended to foster government’s Black Star Experience initiative, an ambitious flagship programme that seeks to make Ghana Africa’s cultural capital and stimulate the economy.
“The Black Star Experience Exhibition demonstrates how individual creative archives can reinforce collective national vision, transforming cultural heritage into opportunity for communities, industries, and future generations.
“This exhibition forms part of the broader Black Star Experience, aligning with Ghana’s vision to position culture and heritage as key drivers of tourism, education, and national development,” he emphasised.
Mr Fynn said the exhibition also was a step towards the long-term vision of establishing a photography museum in Ghana to preserve the country’s visual heritage.
“I want to promote Ghana through photography because photos speak louder than words,” he stated.
The distinguished photographer called on the government to make deliberate investment in the teaching, learning and deployment of photography as an instrument of development.
“In fact, photography should be a part of the academic curriculum from infancy. The essence is not to make everybody a photographer but to let them appreciate how it works and contributes to development,” he said.
Mr Fynn lamented the poor treatment of photographers in Ghana, citing the recognition given to their counterparts in other parts of the world and how lucrative the industry was in those countries.
“Some of my friends in the US and other countries have built expensive mansions in expensive locations and some of have even bought private jets, all from photography. Our industry here really has to change,” he stated.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Ebenezer Kofi Ntim, the Central Regional Director of CNC, explained that the partnership with Mr Fynn was driven by the centre’s mandate to develop the cultural heritage of the region as well as Mr Fynn’s longstanding reputation.
He underscored the importance of photography in cultural development, indicating that the CNC had trained several individuals who now served in key roles.
Aside the exhibition, other programmes slated for the month included institutional dialogues on culture, exhibitions of traditional cuisine, and music and dance displays.
Mr George Justice Arthur, the Mayor of Cape Coast, applauded the exhibitors for mounting the expo at the Cape Coast Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as the history perfectly aligned with the Black Star Experience, a reminder of Ghana’s dark history to present day.
He highlighted Cape Coast’s storied role in the political and cultural history of Ghana and how it continued to shape history.
Mr Arthur reiterated his commitment to transforming Cape Coast and making it an investment hub through an eight-year development plan.
My Fynn’s photography journey began in 1976 when he was still in the then Middle School, now the Junior High School
He had his first official photo shoot in 1981 at the Abangyir Festival in Moree where he later opened his first studio 1986.
He specialised in museums exhibition, trade fairs and exhibitions, large photographic exhibitions, and thematic presentations for conferences, and trade and investment fairs.
For five decades, his journey has evolved alongside Ghana’s cultural, political, and development transformation, carving images into instruments of heritage preservation, cultural diplomacy and national identity.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/Benjamin Mensah