One of the most crucial lessons one can learn in photography is about giving back. This kind of service can be done through monetary donations, educating the next generation, or setting up institutions that help the youth grow. After all, the future of evocative visual storytelling is in the hands of the social media generation. And if they don’t know their history and roots, they may never be able to document meaningful photographs that leave a lasting impact on personal and public narratives. Today, we bring you the story of a photojournalist who moved mountains to preserve African visual history.
Hailing from Ghana, Paul Ninson recently set up a new non-profit institution in his Accra called Dikan Center, where Dikan stands for “take the lead” in the Akan language. The center offers a library, which includes photo books and other materials that focus on African narrative. At the same time, they also have educational programs, a studio, a story lab, and a gallery to showcase the works of homegrown talents and Black photographers to future storytellers from the continent.
“A man does not know his true identity when he does not know his history and the background of where he comes from,” Ninson told NPR in an interview. “And for us to solve problems in Africa, education is critical.”
The Dikan Center offers four courses, a journalism fellowship, a curatorial program, a certificate program, and ArtPath. The latter is a one-year program that allows youngsters to enhance their skills in career and practical skills. The library features thousands of photo books, including works by renowned African and African American photographers and magazines such as National Geographic. One of his first acquisitions was The Gold Coast Yesterday and Today, a book chronicling Ghana’s colonial era.
The man behind this lovely initiative, Ninson, also has a compelling story that led him to this journey. With a lack of resources in Ghana and his love for pursuing photography, Ninson voyaged to New York to study Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism at the International Center of Photography (ICP). There, he understood the need for an institution that could nurture photographers in his homeland. There, he saw a vast range of photo books on African photography, which led to an epiphany: to create a library back home. However, the expedition was not easy. He needed financial help, so the creator of Humans of New York, Brandon Stanton, set up a $1.2 million GoFundMe to help Ninson ship 30,000 to Accra.
In 2022, Dikan Center finally opened its door to local youth, and last year, they also conducted workshops with notable industry figures, including former White House photographer Pete Souza. In addition, they have hosted exhibitions such as Tewahdo, which highlights Ethiopian Orthodox Christian life, and 1957: Freedom and Justice, a retrospective on Ghana’s independence from British rule.
“Dikan has magnified art, magnified photography,” Ninson said. “Dikan has kind of given us the hope that we may soon have a music library in Ghana. We could have a film library in Ghana — anything just to preserve our history and make history.”
Dikan is an excellent example of what happens when photographers choose to invest in their roots. Had Ninson not thought of a library, the chances of many within the country moving abroad would have been high. Moreover, many would have stopped chasing their dreams due to a lack of resources. Dikan has already helped so many youngsters who aspire to be visual storytellers. Perhaps Dikan is already helping the next Gordon Parks or Carrie Mae Weems to achieve their dreams.
