imagining Early Accra
The imagining Early Accra competition aims to encourage and recognise creativity in the use and/or interpretation of archival material about, concerning and related to Accra, Ghana in the late 1940s to 1950s.
2021 WINNERS
Adult Category
1st Place: Akua Serwaa Amankwah, with 'Transcendence', a short story accompanied with an audio narration.
2nd Place: Fauziyatu Moro, with 'The Sugar Babies in the Accra Town Hall', a non-fiction essay based on original, historical research.
3rd Place: Akorfa Dawson, with 'A Time To Be Stubborn', a short fiction piece.
Honorable Mentions
Ama Benewaa Tawiah, with 'Big Boresa Saves the Day'
Bashir Mustapha, Jessica Bruce, and Michelle Boafo, with 'The Noble Expedition'
Mr Samuel Hemans, Art Tutor of the Corpus Christi Catholic Basic School
Under-16 Category
1st Place: Chief Asamoah, with 'The Lighthouse', acrylic painting.
1st Place: Ewurabena Barnes, with 'The Sacrifice' bas-relief sculpture
2nd Place: Baffour Akoto Oppong, with 'Independence', mixed media piece
3rd Place: Diane-Shanelle Sesinam Kwakuyi, with 'The Beauty of Accra And Its Hope', sculpture
4th Place: Jude Kwesi Owusu-Ansah, with 'Cathedral Clinic', coloured pencil drawing
4th Place: Joel Appiah, with 'Freedom and Justice', sculpture
4th Place: Papa Kwakyie, with 'The Lighthouse', sculpture
Eligibility:
The competition is open to people of all ages who are currently resident in Ghana. Competitors aged 16 and over will be judged separately from competitors aged 15 and below. Children are encouraged to enter the competition. No relatives or close associates of the judges or the bEA Team will be eligible for prizes, although they may still enter the competition for a chance to be selected to exhibit and share their work.
Criteria:
Entries to the competition must be based on a period in Ghanaian history – the decade leading up to independence (1947-1957) – and must be inspired by archival material specific to Accra from that period. Entries will be judged on imaginativeness, originality, creativity, use of sources and historical accuracy. The bEA Project has provided some images and links to other archival sources as a guide to participants in the competition, but competitors will be rewarded for originality in researching and using a variety of sources as inspiration. Sources may include personal and family photos and documents, official archives and records, historical footage, historical literature, academic articles, oral histories and more. Competitors must specify all the sources and material they have used or have been inspired by.
Prizes and Recognition:
Shortlisted competitors will have their submissions exhibited in the Accra Archive Exhibition and may be invited to write or speak about their work in various promotional events. The three top entries in each category will receive vouchers for shopping in selected shops in Accra.
Main contest:
1st Prize: Vouchers for shopping worth GhS 2500
2nd Prize: Vouchers for shopping worth GhS 1500
3rd Prize: Vouchers for shopping worth GhS 1000
Children’s Contest
1st Prize: Vouchers for shopping worth GhS 700
2nd Prize: Vouchers for shopping worth GhS 400
3rd Prize: Vouchers for shopping worth GhS 200
Submission Procedure:
Entries may be submitted in a variety of digital/digitised formats such as text, audio, video, and/or images, but all non-text entries must be accompanied by descriptive or explanatory text. Competitors can submit entries as individuals or as groups. Only one submission per individual will be accepted.
Participants will have to first register interest in submitting an entry to the imagining Early Accra competition by completing the registration form. Registration is free and the deadline is 20th March, 2021. Note that only registered participants will be invited to submit their entries for the competition.
Formats
Text only entries: In pdf format. No more than 1500 words
Image only entries: In jpg format. No more than 3 images. Maximum sheet size A1
Audio only entries: In mp3 format. 10 minutes maximum length. You can upload your entry to a streaming site, and then send us a private link.
Video only entries: In mp4 format. 10 minutes maximum length. You can upload your entry to a streaming site, and then send us a private link.
Combination/ Multimedia entries: Any combinations welcome. Text limit is 1000 words. Image limit is 2 images on maximum sheet size A1. Audio or Video is 5 minutes maximum length. View above categories for preferred formats.
Judging:
The competition will be judged by a panel of judges from a variety of backgrounds and with experience and expertise in different artforms, creative outputs and archival research. Entries will be judged on imaginativeness, originality, creativity, use of sources and historical accuracy.
Key Dates:
Competition Launch: 6th March, 2021
Deadline for registration of interest: 20th March, 2021
Deadline for submission of entries: 6th April, 2021
About the organisers:
The building Early Accra (bEA) project is digitising a collection of building permit applications submitted to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) from its earlier manifestation as the Accra Town Council in the early 1900s. This archives digitisation project is funded by The British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme. The team is composed of the Principal Investigator – Kuukuwa Manful, Assistant Project Coordinator – Lois Naa Kwaale Quartey, Digitisation Officer – Elton Kwei Foli, Project Associate – Joseph Nii Akwei Mensah.
Accra Archive is a collective concerned with the collection, documentation, and digitisation of archives and historical material from, about, and related to Accra, Ghana.
