Ghana
Locations:
Buduburam Refugee Camp
Description:
During spring semester 2006, a group of seven NYU students and three recent graduates accompanied Daniel Banks on the NYU-in-Ghana Program. These students had all completed at least one year of work with Daniel as part of the Hip Hop Theatre Initiative in the Department of Drama, Tisch School of the Arts. Thanks to a generous grant from the Office of Community Service, the group committed itself to two in-depth community-based theatre initiatives at the then UNHCR Buduburam Refugee Camp with classmates from the University of Ghana, Legon. For eight weeks the US and Ghanaian college students met once/week with high school students and community leaders from across the camp to explore the use of Hip Hop Theatre as a means to youth self-expression and leadership. Simultaneously, HHTI members and UG students led a drama workshop at the Dominion Christian Academy, one of the high schools attended by residents of Buduburam (just off the grounds of the camp). There, they worked with students to complete an HIV-AIDS education/outreach piece that could be used across the camp to discuss tolerance and prevention. At the end of the two-month residency, HHTI sponsored an open arts celebration where the youth shared their work and local artists also had the opportunity
to perform.
From this project, HHTI team members developed an ongoing relationship with youth from the camp and helped to set up a youth safe house once the youth were repatriated back to Liberia.
HHTI team members in Buduburam included: Utkarsh Ambudkar, Archie Ekong, Tristan Fuge, Eboni Hogan, Danielle Levanas, Brittany Manor, Wade Allain-Marcus, Prentice Onayemi. HHTI remains in close contact with University of Ghana graduate Marcia Olivette, supporting her work in creating local Hiplife Theatre.
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Download Articles:
- Refugees in Ghana Find Their Voice in Hip Hop Culture, Service Matters, NYU
- How Hip Life Theatre was Born in Ghana, American Theatre
- YOUTH LEADING YOUTH: Hip Hop and Hiplife Theatre in Ghana and South Africa, from Acting Together