National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia has donated GH₵50,000 to support AshantiFest 2026, using the occasion to make a passionate case for the creative arts as a legitimate and financially rewarding career path for Ghana’s youth.
Nketia made the donation on the sidelines of AshantiFest activities, urging young Ghanaians to shed the long-held perception that art is merely a hobby. He argued that the creative sector holds genuine potential to absorb a significant portion of the country’s unemployed youth, provided it receives the recognition and investment it deserves.
“Art is not a hobby. It is a viable career path that can help curb the unemployment that plagues our nation,” Nketia said.
The donation adds to a growing wave of private sector and individual support for AshantiFest 2026, a 15-day multi-sectoral festival themed “Our Stories, Our History, Our Culture” and initiated by Ashanti Regional Minister Dr Frank Amoakohene. MTN Ghana serves as the headline sponsor of the festival, financing key activities including a musical concert and a football gala.
One of the flagship components of this year’s festival has been a Street Art Festival at the Asokwa Interchange in Kumasi, where students from over 30 Senior High Schools (SHS) across the Ashanti Region painted murals celebrating Asante heritage, national identity, and cultural pride. The project was funded entirely through private contributions.
Nketia’s remarks align with a broader conversation taking shape around AshantiFest about repositioning the arts and creative industries as engines of economic growth rather than peripheral activities.
