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OUR VISION....
is to place people from different life experiences in an environment where they can exchange ideas and find universal connections
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Cross Cultural Collaborative, Inc. is a non-profit educational organization that promotes cultural exchange and understanding. Our programs
emphasize multigenerational and multicultural collaborations encouraging participants to find rewards in different forms of creativity. We bring artists from different cultures together in a supportive environment where they can get to know each other through the language of art. At the core of our program is the belief that interaction between African and non-African artists enriches the creativity of both groups.
CCC, Inc. invites artists and scholars from all over the world to work with Ghanaians on collaborative projects that range from mosaic walls to documentary films. Most visitors to Ghana have only a superficial connection with the people. We find that by bringing people to live and work at
CCC, Inc. we break down stereotypical thinking. Our participants form lasting friendships and come to appreciate not only other
cultures, but their own as well.
Visitors have an opportunity to be immersed in a spiritual culture grounded in tradition where art is part of everyday life.
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THE CULTURAL CENTER -- ABA House
“our participants form lasting friendships” |
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Cross Cultural Collaborative, Inc. is a research center and meeting place for exhibits, community based art workshops, performances, conferences, classes and other venues that relate to cultural awareness and appreciation. In the true spirit of creativity
CCC, Inc. is an evolving group of people excited about new ways of thinking about world heritage and culture.
Workshops are held at our center located next to the ocean in a suburb of Accra. We provide double occupancy guest rooms with private bath, studio space and gallery. Meals are prepared by a local cook and there are many opportunities to socialize with Ghanaians and visit sites of historical interest.
CCC, Inc. has a Ghanaian staff, resident manager and is in a gated community. There are clinics and hospitals nearby.
 click
for more about the cultural center: ABA
House
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CCC, Inc's Board of Directors are all leaders in the art/cultural community who support the organization's goals and who are committed to its growth and development. |
ELLIE SCHIMELMAN
president and clerk
Ellie graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1960 with a degree in Art
Education. She was an art teacher and supervisor in public schools for over 20 years and taught adult education classes in the Boston
area. She was also a professional potter and part owner of the Cambridge Artists Cooperative crafts gallery in Harvard
Square, Cambridge, MA. Always attracted to African art, Ellie took her first trip to Ghana in 1978.Since then she has returned many times to research and study traditional
crafts, do volunteer teaching and take people on crafts and culturally centered tours of
Ghana. She now devotes herself fulltime to directing Cross Cultural
Collaborative, Inc. and facilitating workshops held at its cultural center in Ghana.
who is Aba
KOBINA DOUGHAN
treasurer
Kobina is a Ghanaian who has lived in the Boston area for many years.
He came to Boston as a scholarship recipient at Berklee College of Music
and went on to receive a Masters in Composition at Temple University.
He returns to Ghana often and is very active in Aba House programs.
DAVID LOCKE
David is an associate professor of music at Tufts University. He overseas Tufts music exchange program in Ghana, brings Ghanaian musicians to do programs in the United States and has written books about Ghanaian
drumming. He is also an accomplished performer of traditional African dance and drumming.
JOHN WILSON
John is a retired art professor from Boston University and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Lesley College. He is a respected figure in the arts community and his work is represented in many museums and private
collections including a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the
Capitol Rotunda in
Washington, DC. He is recognized as a preeminent painter and sculptor and has been archived by the Smithsonian Institution.
KWAO ADIAPAH
Ministry of Education, Accra, Ghana
Kwao is a Ghanaian who writes the art curriculum for the public schools in
Ghana. He holds a Masters Degree in Art Education, is a writer and illustrator of
children's stories and an illustrator of textbooks. Before becoming an administrator he taught art in public schools in Ghana and still runs teacher training
workshops. He is also co-director of Cross Cultural Collaborative,
Inc.
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