By Hafsa Obeng / Christabel Kporvie
Accra, Aug. 28, GNA – The CRAFTARA Festival 2026 has opened in Accra to promote African creativity, cultural exchange and opportunities for artisans and creative entrepreneurs.
The 10-day festival, being held from August 20 to 30, 2026, is on the theme: “Celebrating Creativity, Connecting Cultures, Creating Opportunities.”
It brought together exhibitors from about 12 African countries to display and sell crafts and other cultural products.
Participating countries include Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Togo and Benin, among others.
The festival, supported by the National Commission on Culture (NCC), provides a platform for promoting Ghanaian handicrafts while creating opportunities for artisans and businesses.
Speaking at the opening, Mr Wakefield Ackuaku, Executive Director of the NCC, who represented the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, said African culture must be preserved, promoted and developed for future generations.
He said the CRAFTARA Festival was established to bring Africans and members of the diaspora together to experience, appreciate and promote African culture.
Mr Ackuaku said documenting cultural activities was equally important to ensure that the stories behind Ghanaian arts and crafts were not lost.
“When you pick one item of exhibition from CRAFTARA, it has a story,” he said.
He urged the public to support exhibitors by purchasing their products, saying patronage would promote creativity, support businesses and contribute to the preservation of Ghana’s cultural heritage.
Mr Ackuaku congratulated the organisers for initiating the festival despite resource challenges and assured them of the NCC and the Ministry’s support to ensure its success.
Nana Kyere Agyemang, Deputy Director of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, said the Office supported the festival because it promoted creativity, culture and craft.
He said the festival would provide opportunities for cultural exchange while opening new avenues for artisans and businesses in Ghana and across Africa.
He explained that Ghanaian crafts could serve as cultural ambassadors when taken abroad, adding that the festival also supported trade and investment, particularly among small and medium-scale enterprises.
Nana Agyemang said promoting Ghanaian crafts internationally was important to building the country’s image, stressing that culture remained a major part of Ghana’s identity and should be promoted globally.
He said the Office of Diaspora Affairs would help connect artisans with people interested in skills transfer, investment and business partnerships.
Nana Agyemang said the initiative aligned with efforts to promote continental trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He called for collective efforts by stakeholders to promote Ghanaian crafts, traditional wear and other cultural products and urged the public, the diaspora and visitors to patronise the festival.
Mr Kofi Atta Kakra Kusi, Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), urged Africans to patronise Made-in-Ghana products and products from other African countries participating in the festival.
He said the presence of international exhibitors provided an opportunity for Africans to see themselves as one people and deepen intra-African trade.
Mr Kusi also encouraged Africans to patronise each other’s tourism products as part of efforts to strengthen cultural and economic ties across the continent.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
Reporters: Hafsa Obeng/ Christabel Kporvie