Last week, the creative community received sad news. The expansive man who had been behind Creative Storm, a marketing communications and events firm that brought many exciting and deep dives into the creative space, Dr. Kwesi Owusu, had passed away.
It wasn’t pleasant news at all. It was quite a shock to receive it, especially as many knew Kwesi was back in London working on some new writing and film projects. His first major film Ama, released in the 1980s was a major trajectory for the African-Caribbean community in the UK.
In a brief tribute, his long time colleague and friend, Nii Laryea Korley, writes;
Kwesi Owusu had a curious, sharp and expansive mind that wrapped itself around an unlimited range of subjects and activities.
He believed in the intertwining of the creative forces. That’s why he lived his life as an author, filmmaker, poet, music producer, songwriter, concert promoter, marketing communications expert and more.
Not too long ago, he started describing himself as an Afro-Creative Historian and Oware Player.
Like the lead character in the ‘Ama’ film, he was also an ancestral messenger sent to fulfil a mission. Now he can sit over a game of Oware with the ancestors and report on what was achieved while here.
Trust him to grab their attention with tales about what inspired the themes and plots of the things he wrote about. Being the clever storyteller, he would whip out a detailed storyboard and a director’s script with clear instructions on image sizes, camera positions and movements, entry points and exits for actors, music fade-ins and fade-outs and cutting points to guide the visual editor.
I can only imagine the ancestors giving him a thumbs up and saying: “Welcome and well done Kwesi Kwarteng Owusu. You did what you could to shine bright lights on all aspects of our arts.”
The man has left us but he won’t fade out of our memories. We will always remember and cherish his wonderful contributions to artistic enlightenment and knowledge in general.
May he rest in paradise.
