A senior academic at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has praised the Ashanti Region’s street art festival as a powerful demonstration of coordinated youth talent, saying it is restoring confidence among students pursuing visual arts education.
Dr Kwasi Amakye Boateng, a Senior Lecturer at KNUST, made the remarks in an interview on Angel FM in Kumasi, describing the initiative as one of the most visible expressions of what young Ghanaians can achieve when given direction and institutional support.
“The Ashanti Region’s street art festival showcases the power of coordinated youth energy, talent, and patriotism,” he said. “He is rekindling the spirit of students in the visual arts. Previously, many people did not see the relevance of such a course, but he has managed to elevate their spirits.”
The street art component forms part of the broader AshantiFest 2026, a multi-sectoral 15-day festival themed “Our Stories, Our History, Our Culture,” initiated by Ashanti Regional Minister Dr Frank Amoakohene and heavily sponsored by MTN Ghana. Over 30 senior high schools (SHS) participated in the Asokwa Interchange painting exercise, including Afua Kobi Girls, Kumasi Anglican Senior High School (KASS), and Kumasi Wesley Girls, whose students produced portraits of cultural and national figures alongside symbols of Ghanaian and Asante heritage.
The AshantiFest coordinator, Emmanuel Opoku Anane, confirmed that the street art project has been funded entirely by private individuals and not from government coffers, describing it as a platform for visual arts students to exhibit their talents while transforming a space once associated with insecurity into a welcoming public gallery.
Dr Boateng credited the Regional Minister directly for driving the shift in perception around creative arts education. “The Regional Minister is setting a refreshing pace in Ashanti,” he said. “The minister is consciously or unconsciously helping the students while also beautifying the city.”
The initiative has not been without controversy. Parts of the student artworks at the Asokwa Interchange were allegedly defaced on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. The vandalism followed public debate over a mural of President John Dramani Mahama painted at the interchange, with some critics arguing that the structure was built during the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor and should reflect that history.
Despite the controversy, public response to the broader street art project has been strongly positive, with residents and commuters praising the aesthetic transformation of the interchange and calling on city authorities to extend similar initiatives to other locations across Kumasi.
