March 3, 2023
The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts (VRCFA) at Shawnee State University will present Okaidja Afroso on Thursday, Apr. 13. Part of the VRCFA’s World Fest partnership, the native of Ghana’s performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in the Eloise Covert Smith Theater.
Okaidja Afroso is known to weave together cross-cultural influences to create hypnotic sonic landscapes. His unique artistic vision has led him to combine his native rhythms with unforeseen pairings of musical styles. A multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and dancer, Afroso hails from a family of musicians and storytellers from the fishing village of Kokrobite on Ghana’s west coast.
In his 25 years of touring and performing internationally, Afroso has performed in diverse venues spanning the globe – from small fishing villages in the Canadian Artic to the Kennedy Center in New York City. He has also spent countless hours in classrooms across the U.S., teaching children about Ghanaian culture through his educational outreach programs. Often performed in his native language, Afroso’s genre-defying songs convey a whole spectrum of experiences – joy, harmony, tragedy, and hope – that embrace what he calls “the rich complexity of the integrated world we inhabit.” Through his distinctive style that combines various percussion instruments, vocals, guitar, and dance, Afroso explores the perseverance of ancestral traditions and creates a new, contemporary African oral tradition.
Tickets for Okaidja Afroso are available online at vrcfa.com or at the McKinley Box Office in the VRCFA, Monday through Friday. Tickets can also be purchased via telephone call at (740) 351-3600. Ticket prices for the show are $10 for standard and $5 for those 18 years of age and under. Handicap accessible seating is available upon request.
VRCFA has been selected to partner with regional arts partner, Arts Midwest, for the 2022-2025 World Fest cycle. During this three-year partnership, Arts Midwest will bring six music ensembles from inside and outside the United States to Portsmouth for week-long residences. Portsmouth is the only Ohio community to be invited to participate in this cycle.
To learn more about upcoming performances at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts, visit vrcfa.com.