The largest photography library in Africa opens in Ghana’s capital, Accra with thousands of invaluable collections.
The first-of-its-kind library, known as the ‘Dikan Center,’ is the brainchild of Ghanaian photographer and filmmaker Paul Ninson, whose objective is to create a visual ecosystem in Ghana and Africa while celebrating the continent’s rich photography culture as well as empowering future artists by curating exhibitions and public programming on works of Africa and the diaspora; and combines the presentation of new work with the rediscovery and reassessment of work by established voices.
The non-profit centre is positioned as a legacy-bearer of visual education and the vehicle that would determine the success of Africa’s creative arts economy in the now and the years to come. So far, the Dikan Centre is home to more than 30,000 books Ninson has collected.
About The Dikan Center
The Dikan Centre came to be when Ninson met with Brandon Stanton, the founder of Humans of New York, who started a crowdfunding campaign for the Dikan Center.
The newly launched initiative features a photo studio and classrooms that will provide space for workshops, as well as a fellowship programme targeted at African documentarians and visual artist
The centre also comprises of different works by pioneering Black photographers, such as Gordon Parks, who was the first African American photographer to hold a staff position at Life magazine, and publications such as National Geographic.
The Dikan Centre came to be when Ninson met with Brandon Stanton, the founder of Humans of New York, who started a crowdfunding campaign for the Dikan Center.
The newly launched initiative features a photo studio and classrooms that will provide space for workshops, as well as a fellowship programme targeted at African documentarians and visual artist
An exhibition space will host regular shows, the first one being ‘Ahennie,’ a series by the late Ghanaian documentary photographer Emmanuel Bobbie, also known as Bob Pixel who died in 2021.
The centre also comprises of different works by pioneering Black photographers, such as Gordon Parks, who was the first African American photographer to hold a staff position at Life magazine, and publications such as National Geographic.Sources: Dikan Center, Asaase Radio
Photo Credit: Dikan Centre
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Photography