Early years and education Kwesi Kwarteng Owusu was born in
Sekondi, Gold Coast (present-day
Ghana), in 1954. going on to do postgraduate studies in Political Science and Pre Colonial African Social Formations at the
London School of Economics (1980–83).
Merle Collins, Wala Danga, and Vico Mensah. Described as "modern-day griots", African Dawn released four albums, and among other activities worked with
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o on the 1984 stage production
The Trial of Dedan Kimathi.
Writing In 1986, Owusu published the book
The Struggle for Black Arts in Britain (about establishing an authentic Black arts tradition in the UK, and the links between popular art, activism and Black rebellion), followed in 1987 by
Behind the Masquerade, written with
Jacob Ross, on the
Notting Hill Carnival. Owusu edited
Storms of the Heart: An Anthology of Black Arts and Culture (1988) and
Black British Culture and Society: A Text Reader in 2000. Scholar and critical theorist
Homi K. Bhabha in a review of
Storms of the Heart for
Art Monthly stated: "There is a storm at the heart of this book, a turbulence that accompanies the emergence of contemporary Black culture, that is reflected in the form of the text itself. ...and perhaps the most exciting reorganisation of cultural space that is presaged in this book, for me at least, is its effective refusal of a unitary concept of culture." In 2012, Owusu published
Ghana Highlife Music, co-authored with African music specialist Florent Mazzoleni.
Film Owusu's film career began in the 1980s, when he was an apprentice producer and director with
Channel 4's Cinema Action. In 1988, he and
Kwate Nee-Owoo made
Ouaga, a documentary on African cinema, and their feature film
Ama – the first African film to be shot in London – was released to much acclaim in 1992, screened in Ghana, London, Cannes and elsewhere internationally.
Segrin Africa (1993) and, from 2003, with the multi-media production house Creative Storm and Mildred Samuel,
Water is Life (2003),
The Lights Have Gone Out Again (2009), ''Ghana's Plastic Waste Menace
(2009), Singing For Freedom
(2010), Environmental Health Channel
(2013) and the Maternal Health Channel Television Series
(2013), including screenings at the first Environmental Film Festival of Accra. Film producer and journalist Afua Hirsch in a review for The Guardian'' stated: "The documentaries tell powerful real-life stories. Creative Storm documentaries have a reputation for sparking change in Ghana. Its 2003, environmental documentary Water Is Life influenced a change in water policy, from privatisation to a public-private partnership, and a year-long series the team produced, the Environment Channel, in 2010, was praised for stimulating debate about environmental challenges."
Other media, cultural work and activism Owusu was part of a consortium, called Black Triangle, that bought the
Electric Cinema, Notting Hill, in London's
Portobello Road, and he had responsibility for running the cinema, with partners in the consortium representing other branches of the black media:
Val McCalla from
Voice Communications Group and
Neil Kenlock from
Choice FM radio. Owusu was on the editorial board of
Artrage magazine, was a research associate of the
University of Cambridge's African Studies Centre, In 2003, he opened the media production house Creative Storm, dedicating the launch to the work of musician Mac Tontoh of
Osibisa, Owusu co-produced the High Vibes Music Festival, launched in 2009, that was described as "Accra’s most exciting music festival" and featured leading musicians from the region such as
Tony Allen,
Manou Gallo,
Reggie Rockstone, Yaa Pono,
Wulomei,
Kwame Yeboah, and
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley. In 2018, Owusu was appointed Director of the School of Creative Arts (SoCA) at the
African University College of Communications in Accra, Ghana. In 2022, Owusu launched the African Dawn podcast, "dedicated to telling untold stories from Africa". == Death ==