Mr Thomas Fynn, a world-renowned and ace Ghanaian photographer, is in California, United States, to showcase the culture of Ghana and Africa to the world.
His photographic exhibition, dubbed “Spirit Possession: Celebration of Ghanaian faces, African Culture and Heritage,” features diverse themes from ancient historic monuments through ecotourism to ethno-cultural presentations.
Through the exhibition, Mr Fynn seeks to cast the spotlight on Ghana as a preferred tourist destination in the world, and to promote cultural appreciation and boost Ghana’s economic growth.
The event is in collaboration with Mr Thomas Appleton Lamb, a landscape and ethnographic photographer based in the United States, and Allyson Allen, a master African-American textile artist and culture bearer.
The exhibition highlights and contrasts traditional Ghanaian fabrics with Allen’s contemporary hand-created textiles.
Taking place at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA) in Santa Ana, California, “Spirit Possession” started on Saturday June 1 and would continue till June 29, 2024.
The opening reception, held on June 1, drew about 650 people.
The month-long art walk and photographic exhibition also forms part of the Juneteenth Celebration.
Juneteenth, a federal holiday in the United States, is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery.
Prior to the “Spirit Possession” event in California, Mr Fynn and Mr Lamb in collaboration with the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) mounted the exhibition in Ghana’s capital city, Accra, from April 22 to April 26, 2024.
The Accra event, which took place at the forecourt of CLOGSAG National Secretariat, Ministries, was patronised by several attendees, including CLOGSAG members, Ministries, Agencies and Departments, traditional rulers, the Media, photo artists, artistic performers, lovers of arts, and the public.
Mr Fynn, a native of Moree in the Central Region of Ghana, is a documentary photographer and the Executive Director of FYNNexhibits.
His works are dedicated to preserving and promoting Ghana’s rich cultural diversity, natural beauty, and heritage.
He has won several awards, including the World Master Award in Arts and Culture 2010 at the Jeollanam-do Festival in South Korea.
Mr Fynn and Mr Lamb have collaborated for over 30 years.
Their partnership began in 1990 when they were commissioned by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to conduct a foundational photographic survey for the establishment of Kakum National Park as a tourist site in Cape Coast.
Mr Lamb has participated in numerous ecotourism projects in Ghana and several other countries.
He has dedicated his life to not only creating, through the art of storytelling, memorable photographs, but also championing environmental awareness.
As part of preparations to mark the 2024 OCCCA exhibition in California, Mr Fynn and Mr Lamb embarked on a 14-day tour of six regions of Ghana in June 2023 with assistance from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ghana Tourism Authority and CLOGSAG.
The regions were Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Central, Western and Eastern Regions.
Allen has been recognised for more than three decades as an award-winning Master African-American Quilt and Doll Artist by the state of California.
She uses traditional materials to create unique, dimensional textile art and quilts.
For thirty years Allen has been exhibiting and teaching quilting, doll making, and altered book art. Her works have been exhibited in galleries, museums, and embassies around the world.
