Creative Arts industry needs a united front to develop- Amy Frimpong

The Executive Director of the National Theatre of Ghana, Amy Frimpong has added her voice to how the creative arts industry can be revived again.

According to her, unity is key for the growth of every sector and must not be downplayed.

In an interview with JoyNews’ Doreen Avio the ‘Kukurantumi: Road to Accra’ star indicated that even though there are so many divisions in the creative arts sector, they must all come together to make the industry a better one.

“We need to be united. There are so many divisions in our sector; yes, we have our individual identity but we all belong to one family and we should always move as one and support each other,” she said.

Amy Frimpong also stated that people in the creative artsspace must take the professionalism of the work seriously to make the creative arts industry a better one.

“We should take our profession seriously, it is not about the fame when you have it, it is a profession. If you are an artist, you are going to be an artist for life and you need to prepare for that. I believe that one way we can be professional about it is to really build the arts administration components of what we do.

“For instance, there are a lot of artists who perform without contracts or sign contracts without understanding it. For me that is something we must all understand what goes into a contract, what are you signing? What is required of me? What is required of the person bringing me on?”

“Basic things like the MOU’s, what does that mean to us? We also need to understand how to manage people in our sector. I always describe theatre as a business where there is no room for failure; you have to succeed and must have a product at the end. You never know where the money is coming from; you never know who your staff is? But when it all comes together, you have to guarantee success.”

Amy Frimpong is the Executive Director of the National Theatre of Ghana who played the role of “Abena” in the movie Kukurantumi: Road to Accra which was produced in 1983.

It is said to be one of the first Ghanaian films to be aired on many European countries’ television.