The community or home of newly appointed Liberia’s Art and Culture Ambassador, Kekura Kamara on the GSA Road in Paynesville outside Monrovia will witness a great display of cultural and musical performances from top performing Liberian artists and culture icons on tomorrow, August 24, 2024. With the day being observed as National Flag Day, Mr. Kamara said the culture and music festival is the beginning of his plans to reunite Liberians artists, who for some reasons or the other had been away from each other. It can be recalled that Madam Juli Endee, the woman who then served as the nation’s Cultural Ambassador for 28 years, has finally been officially replaced by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr., and was replaced with seasoned television producer, an actor and cultural icon, Mr. Kekura Kamara, alias “Malawala Balawala.”
Speaking to this paper following his appointment by President Boakai, Mr. Kamara vowed to promote unity among all stakeholders within the arts and culture industry so that together, they would all promote the good image of Liberia. Mr. Kamara, also a famous television presenter of the Liberia National Television (LNTV), then ELTV, one of the best ways to start the process of uniting actors within the sector is by first embarking on an initiative that will bring them together such as a cultural and musical display. “I promise you that Liberia’s art and culture industry will never be the same again. Our first vision is to bring our stars together to display their God-given talents; let’s everyone feel a part of this country,” stated Mr. Kamara. Balawala, as he is affectionately called, started his acting career back in the mid-80s with the Liberia Jungle Dance Group that made headways before staging the Balawala television series. He recalled that in the late 70s and the 80s, the arts and culture industry of Liberia was at its peak but suddenly lost its way due to the 14-year civil conflict and as a result of disunity among artists and stakeholders. Based on this, he believes that uniting the artists and stakeholders will be the first process to evoking the true spirit of the art and culture industry. At the same time, the top cultural icon has not only envisioned to take the industry to the top, but has promised to bring the government to the people by providing a simplified explanations of the government’s programs and actions to through the fine arts. But to achieve all these, Ambassador hopes and prays that his work is supported at all levels. “As it has always been my call, I am grateful that I am in now and I will continue to cry on the government to look at culture as one of the priorities that can help propagate and maintain peace. This will help to promote our value; we need more investments in the sector so that our entertainment industry can flourish. We are way behind our neighbors who are making headways. We need to catch up.”
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