https://journals.uew.edu.gh/index.php/jaac <p>The School of Creative Arts publishes a faculty-based academic journal, <a href="https://jaac-sca.org/"><em>The Journal of African Arts &amp; Culture (JAAC)</em></a>. JAAC is a peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly platform dedicated to critical dialogue on African arts and culture. The journal is committed to publishing and disseminating high-quality, original research that underscores the transformative significance of the arts in African societies, both past and present.</p> <p>With an interdisciplinary orientation, the journal features cutting-edge scholarship in ancient, modern, and contemporary African visual and performing arts. JAAC welcomes diverse contributions, including research articles, critical essays, interviews, exhibition and book reviews, short reports, and creative critiques. The journal reflects the School’s commitment to thought leadership and academic excellence in the creative arts.</p> en-US JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE https://journals.uew.edu.gh/index.php/jaac/article/view/480 This paper is aimed at exploring the role of creative artists in promoting traditional cultural tourism in Ghana. It is premised on the fact that, the full potential of traditional cultural tourism remains underdeveloped in spite of the rich cultural heritage and the abundance of creative talent in Ghana. This situation hinders the capacity of creative artists to significantly contribute to the growth of cultural tourism, social entrepreneurship, and economic development, although, some creative artists in the industry are contributing without being noticed. Traditional knowledge and cultural expressions have been at the forefront of cultural tourism, which is embedded in the folklore of any society. Folklore has been the intangible asset that has driven many people’s tastes for cultural tourism and the role of the creative artist can shape and forge a new dimension to create a creative economy for sustainable development and for social entrepreneurship, and business opportunities for community and national economic impact. The study dwells on a qualitative approach reviewing archival materials with observations and interviews to seek a deeper understanding of the role of creative artistes and artists in promoting cultural tourism using their creative skills as economic agents. Using convenient purposive sampling, thirty participants were interviewed and it came to the known that creative artists are packaging beverages, using waste materials uniquely, traditional festivals, traditional music, and traditional entertainment creatively needing government’s support to scale it for socioeconomic impact. Benjamin Oduro Arhin Jnr Emmanuel Obed Acquah Ernest Kwesi Amponsah Alfred Patrick Addaquay Andrew Yenintete Bamongya Richardson Commeyfio Copyright (c) 2025 JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE 2025-08-08 2025-08-08 7 3 27 57 https://journals.uew.edu.gh/index.php/jaac/article/view/483 The study aimed at correlating the pre-knowledge of student-teachers to their exam performance in Visual Arts Specialism at Bagabaga College of Education. The main purpose of the study was to use its f indings to inform decisions that would guide subsequent admission criteria in admitting students to study the Visual Arts specialism in the College. Mixed Method approach in the form of survey, narrative and descriptive analyses were employed. Data was collected using online questionnaires and Documentary Analysis Guide. Findings of the study revealed that students’ pre-knowledge of subjects did not match with their College exam grades and that the student-teachers’ self-motivation and mindset were the main determinants of their success in the end of College semester exams. The study, therefore, recommended stakeholders of the College to ensure that students who have the zeal to pursue the Visual Arts Specialism irrespective of their background knowledge should be offered admission into the programme. Mumuni Zakaria Fusheini Copyright (c) 2025 JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE 2025-08-08 2025-08-08 7 3 https://journals.uew.edu.gh/index.php/jaac/article/view/481 In 2020, public health education became a very great concern for people all over the world due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). To protect humanity from this deadly virus, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and WHO put in place a preventive mechanism. The media used to print the protocols were mostly paper and stickers which were torn and washed away easily when it rained. This study aimed to design and fabricate COVID-19 protocols on Metal Plaque using metalsmithing techniques to promote Public Health Education. The researchers adopted a qualitative research paradigm with a Studio Based research design within praxis and exegesis principles in artistic research. Chasing and repousse techniques and Aluminium sheets were used in the construction process. Results of the study revealed that these techniques and the material are suitable for fabricating metal artifacts for education on infectious diseases, drug abuse, illegal mining, waste management, bribery and corruption. It is envisaged that the use of metal plaques for public health education be expanded beyond COVID-19 protocols to include other critical societal issues such as infectious diseases, drug abuse, illegal mining, waste management, and anti-corruption efforts. Public health agencies, educational institutions, and relevant stakeholders should consider metal-based communication tools due to their durability, resistance to environmental wear, and long term visibility. Mohammed Kwaku Baidoo Ignatius Ackom-Mensah Bentum Charles Adu-Boachie Cyril Etornam Adala Peggie Ama Fening Copyright (c) 2025 JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE 2025-08-08 2025-08-08 7 3 https://journals.uew.edu.gh/index.php/jaac/article/view/484 This study explores the cultural and artistic dimensions of E.O. Acquah’s Nyansaba within the context of Anansegorndwom (African musical drama with indigenous stories). By drawing on Cultural Theory propounded by Edgar and Sedgwick (2005/2007), the paper analyses how Acquah fuses traditional Ghanaian oral narratives with modern musical techniques, creating a work that bridges the gap between cultural heritage and contemporary composition. The study examines the harmonic structures, rhythmic patterns, and narrative elements in Nyansaba, shedding light on the significance of Ananse stories in Ghanaian culture and how Acquah’s work contributes to the preservation of these traditions. The findings underscore the role of Nyansaba as a vital artistic and cultural expression, offering insights into the symbiotic relationship between music and storytelling in Ghana. It is concluded that the interplay of the composer’s musical theoretical skills, poetry, and the Ananse philosophy demonstrates his transformative power of imagination that could become a vehicle for transcending unpatriotic behaviours that can eventually correct the anti-national development attitudes in the Ghanaian citizenry if the musical drama receives the intended patronage. John Francis Annan Copyright (c) 2025 JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE 2025-08-08 2025-08-08 7 3 105 124 https://journals.uew.edu.gh/index.php/jaac/article/view/477 This paper interrogates the concept of standardisation in the development of the Ghanaian at?nt?b?n (bamboo flute) as an indigenous African musical instrument. The paper draws a clear distinction between the concepts of ‘Standardisation’ and ‘Westernisation ‘as it applies to the development of indigenous African musical instruments like the at?nt?b?n. The paper further explores the challenges (tuning, finishing and packaging) that the At?nt?b?n and some other Ghanaian musical instruments face outside their primordial origins. To this end, ethnographic and case study designs were employed. The paper makes the point that applying Western sense of standardisation to the development of African musical instruments is bound to create problems in construction, usage and appreciation both within and outside the cultural context of the instrument. Stephen Aidoo Copyright (c) 2025 JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE 2025-08-08 2025-08-08 7 3 59 82 https://journals.uew.edu.gh/index.php/jaac/article/view/482 The 'One Health' concept promotes peaceful coexistence between humans, animals, and environmental health. The paper employs a conceptual review to explore the ‘One Health’ concept, focusing on the ecological perspectives of human, animal, and ecosystem health connections. The One Health concept was discussed in-depth arguing that the environmental perspective of the connections between human health, animal health, and ecosystem health is multifaceted which could also affect the reproductive health of the human species, hence, no one person, organisation, or sector alone can adequately address health issues within the ecosystem since health issues encompass animal human-environment interfaces. It is concluded that by challenging the utilitarian perspective that prioritises individual happiness, asserting that true well-being cannot be achieved in isolation. Rather, it is only through fostering harmony and peaceful coexistence among humans, animals, and the environment that sustainable health outcomes can be realised for all. Fred Yao Gbagbo Copyright (c) 2025 JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE 2025-08-08 2025-08-08 7 3