The I Am Phenomxnal Womxn Exhibition was held at and in partnership with the Centre for National Culture in Tamale, Northern Region. The centre – built in 1961 by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah – is an important institution in the North as it works to develop, preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the region.
Through the exhibition, we wanted to help preserve the history of the centre and offer the community a new way of interacting with this space. We did not paint over the walls – we left them as they were in order to showcase the space’s history – it has been used, walked through, and lived in. We constructed four walls that hung from the two-storey high ceiling, contrasting the old with the new, bridging art with culture. We also included four short films (one for each woman) as well as sixteen archival photos – moments captured from our journeys together.
In addition to inviting the women and members of the community to the exhibition, we also put emphasis on ensuring that the youth experienced the exhibition. We were grateful to have over 300 students from four schools around Tamale visit the exhibition. In conducting 1.5-2 hour sessions, the students were walked through the work and posed questions that made them think differently about what it means to be a woman in Northern Ghana. Many never had the opportunity to experience or think about art in this way. Some never thought that women could extend beyond their kitchen, child-rearing or household chores. The exhibition became a way for them to learn from women in their communities and be proud of who they are.
