blaxxRADIO Season 2. Episode 1 (Parts 1 & 2) Creative Coalescing: Artists of KNUST and Ghana's Contemporary Art Revolution (ACASA 2017) Episode Description: In this episode, we revisit audio from the 17th ACASA Triennial Symposium hosted at the University of Ghana, Legon. Featuring the blaxTARLINES team and dynamic artists affiliated with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), this panel discussion examines the evolution of the Ghanaian and broader African art scenes during a pivotal shift in contemporary practice. The panellists reflect on the radical emergence of non-conforming, post-commissarial, and experimental art practices that challenged institutional norms and reshaped the landscape. Offering critical historical insights into the early days and intellectual foundations of blaxTARLINES, the conversation highlights the key figures, collective strategies, and pedagogical shifts that helped propel Ghana into its current contemporary art dispensation. blaxTARLINES Team & Panellists featured in Session 13.4: Round Table — Creative Coalescing: Artists of KNUST and Ghana's Contemporary Art Revolution Participating blaxTARLINES Panellists: George Ampratwum, Kwaku Boafo Kissiedu (Castro), Edwin Bodjawah, Dorothy Amenuke, Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, Adjo Kisser, Alissa Jordan, Tracy Naa Koshi Thompson, Jeremiah Quarshie, and Ibrahim Mahama. Moderated by: Rebecca Nagy and Susan Cooksey. ACASA 17 Program & Event Overview The 17th Triennial Symposium on African Art, organised by the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) and hosted by the Institute of African Studies (IAS) at the University of Ghana, Legon (August 8–13, 2017), marked a historic milestone as the first ACASA Triennial held on the African continent. The conference brought together scholars, curators, and practitioners to explore historical, modern, and contemporary African art while examining the radical shifts, institutional transformations, and emerging practices across the region. About blaxTARLINES KUMASI blaxTARLINES KUMASI is an experimental contemporary art incubator, project space, and non-profit organisation affiliated with the Department of Painting and Sculpture, now the Department of Fine Art and Curatorial Practice, at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. Formalised as an institutional entity in 2015, the collective grew out of decades of radical pedagogical reforms led by artist-philosopher Prof. kąrî'kạchä seid'ou and a network of educators, students, and alumni. Key Foundations & Mission Pedagogical Revolution: Evolving from seid'ou's Emancipatory Art Teaching movement, blaxTARLINES dismantled retro-colonial, Eurocentric curriculum models in favour of process-based, post-media, and open-source artistic practices. Radical Inclusivity: Operating on egalitarian principles, blaxTARLINES treats art as a site of multiplicity: embracing performance, installation, sound, social practice, site-specificity, and everyday vernacular materials alongside traditional and contemporary media. Alternative Economies: It challenges the hyper-commercialisation of the art market by promoting art as a gift, site of knowledge-sharing, and collective resource. Impact & Scale: blaxTARLINES serves as an essential nexus for contemporary West African art, pioneering major off-site, large-scale public exhibitions across Ghana, such as Gown must go to Town (2015), Cornfields in Accra (2016), and Orderly Disorderly (2017). Its network of artists, curators, and researchers continues to reshape global contemporary art discourses through international exhibitions, residencies, publication projects, and platform activations. Credits & Info Series: blaxxRADIO | Art Talk Segment Host: Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. Moderation: Rebecca Nagy and Susan Cooksey Panellists: George Ampratwum, Kwaku Boafo Kissiedu (Castro), Edwin Bodjawah, Dorothy Amenuke, Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, Adjo Kisser, Alissa Jordan, Tracy Naa Koshi Thompson, Jeremiah Quarshie, and Ibrahim Mahama. Theme Song: Zegedevi by ZAGUNOR and Megborna Post-production: Megborna @ The SHRINE (Tech Sec, KNUST Campus) Listen now and join the conversation