Ghana’s interaction with the African diaspora especially the African American community is yielding positive results. A new partnership has been made to establish the country’s first ever skate park; Freedom Skate Park.
Ghana is reportedly set to open up its first official skate park this late December. According to Vogue, the skate park is expected to open in the capital of Accra in July 2021. This comes after Ghana’s decade long fledgling skate scene caught international attention. American-Ghanaian designer Virgil Abloh, who also serves as Louis Vuitton’s menswear artistic director, is part of the international project. The international collaboration also includes NGO Surf Ghana and pan-African fashion label, Daily Paper Clothing. The skate park has been aptly named “Freedom Skate Park”.
Freedom Skate Park
The Skate Park is set to be a state of the art skate park that comes with Wi-Fi. Surf Ghana founder Sandy Alibo reportedly had a vision for the skatepark way back in 2016 and waited for a project that would offer more than a half pipe. Abloh, by chance, discovered Ghana’s prominent skate crew Skate Nation through a 2017 Vogue article that celebrated Skate Nation’s punk style. According to Hot New Hip Hop, Abloh will contribute to the design of the skate park through his own design studio Alaska Alaska. Freedom Skate Park will be located in the Dzorwulu district and will reportedly also sell skateboards and other skating equipment.
Popular skate apparel Vans has also joined the venture and will reportedly contribute to skateboarding classes. Skate Nation, lead by Joshua Odamtten, had about 30 members back in 2017. Dominique, originally from Gabon, was then the only female rep in the skate crew. Admittedly the crew has grown since then. Freedom Skate Park is anticipated to be the site for future international skate competitions. The international project has been termed a “global diasporic vision” by Daily Paper Clothing.