MESH Confab Nov. 2015

The largest biannual MESH Confab Nov. 2015 is here again. MESH Confab is the largest gathering of Ghanaian creatives to MEET, EXPLORE and SHARE through keynote presentations, portfolio reviews, live creative demonstrations and mini-expo. MESH Confab is only one of three major activities by MESH Ghana, an organization that seeks to harness Ghanaian creativity towards development.

About MESH Confab

MESH Confab is a biannual gathering of the very best of Ghanaian creativity under one roof for purposes of meeting, exploring and sharing in real life. So it has taken the form of keynote presentations by renowned creatives, portfolio reviews where participants present their creative portfolios to other participants to receive feedback on their creative work, live creative session where participants get a glimpse of the creative process of fellow creatives and a mini-expo that exhibit creative products and services. These offer opportunities for networking collaboration and discovery.

Expected attendance:

Expected participants include a cross section of the Ghanaian creative industry including but not limited to architects, fashion designers, digital and graphic artists, illustrators, animators, web designers, filmmakers and the likes. We are also expecting leading creative individuals, brands and outfits to take the opportunity to discover young talent for possible commissions or recruitment. Our special guest for the event will be the Deputy Minister of Culture, Tourism and the creative arts.

Event details:

Date: Saturday, 14th November, 2015,

Venue: British Council Auditorium

Time: 9am-6pm

Event schedule

Expo (Starts at 9:00 am)

This will showcase mainly products and services that demonstrate Ghanaian creativity. Brands and initiatives to be exhibited include RPC, HTW, AAKS, Clove Clothing, Archi-Afrika, student projects etc. These will be on display throughout the duration of the event.

Session 1: Keynote Speakers/ Panel discussion: (Starts at 12:00 pm)

This session is aimed at getting insight into the business of creativity with an emphasis on how to make ideas happen. In this session, we invite outstanding individuals who have chalked remarkable success in their various creative disciplines to deliver 20 minute presentations. The invited speakers and topics are as follows:

1. Professor Henaku Addo on “visions of Ghana” – A creative perspective on development
2. Paul Kweku Akrofie (RPC) on the “challenges of ‘making’ in Ghana”
3. Panel discussion on “Ghana’s evolving cultural landscape (Sionne Neely(Accra[Dot]alt), Dzifa Gomashie (Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts), Joe Osae-Addo (Archi-Afrika)

This session will focus very much on actionable tips that can help participants advance their own creative careers

Session 2: Portfolio reviews (Starts at 3:20 pm)

This session is part of the worldwide Behance Portfolio Reviews events where participants are given the opportunity to present their creative portfolios to their peers to receive insightful feedback. Presenters are given a 5 minute time slot within which to present their portfolios and another 5 minutes to receive feedback from their peers all in a very relaxed and semi-formal atmosphere. This gives participants an opportunity to showcase their work, receive insightful feedback, a chance at getting commissions or getting hired and opportunity for collaboration.

Session 3: Live Creative Sessions (Starts at 5:00pm)

This offers participants a first-hand peek into the creative processes of different creative professionals. There will be five different activities happening simultaneously with networking. The activities will include:

1. Photography shoot and photo retouching

2. Live painting (Digital and analog)

3. 3d modeling

4. DJ mixing

5. Musical/ Poetry performances

MESH Confab is only one step towards our mission to transform the Ghanaian creative industry into a major force in driving national development and your esteemed presence and support will go a long way to help us achieve this noble aim.

See photos and videos from previous MESH Confabs here