This month we visit Accra, Ghana for a conversation with the multifaceted artist Poetra Asantewa. Poetra is so many things: A spoken word artist. A vocalist. An organizer. A feminist. A builder of community. Poetra has a vision -- a vision for creating a better future, through literature, art and community; for archiving and reshaping our past through storytelling, creative expression and conversation; for telling and retelling our stories so that we can see and hear a fuller picture and realize the potential in ourselves. 

There is so much we could discuss with Poetra -- she is a published poet, an accomplished spoken word performer, a composer, a vocalist, a writer, an organizer. She founded her own publication, Tampered Press, to provide a platform for other artists and writers in West Africa and beyond. She launched a non-profit and annual residency program for women creatives in Ghana called Black Girls Glow, to foster collaborations among women artists and explore ways that art can build community. Through all of this work, she is actively building infrastructures in her community to help artists thrive, and is inspiring artists all around her to grow and build as well. And she has a vision for something even greater.  

Produced and Edited by Nyokabi Kariũki and Elena Moon Park

Additional Story Editing by Charlotte Gartenberg 

Mixed by Zubin Hensler

Executive Producers: Jeremy Thal, Elena Moon Park, and Kyla-Rose Smith

Featuring: Poetra Asantewa & Ria Boss

A full playlist of music featured on this episode can be found here

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, & produced by Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation.

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, & produced by Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation.