An international art workshop that comprises artists from France and other West African countries will open at ArtHAUS in Accra on Saturday June 4 2005.

Participating artists are Ludovic Fadairo (Benin), Charlotte Conrad (France), Jean Sewonou (Togo), Wiz Kudowor and Kofi Setordji (Ghana).

Dubbed "Overcoming Barriers", the workshop is aimed at offering participating artists the opportunity to experiment with new ideas and push the boundaries of their own creativity.

The programme also hopes to create an enabling environment for artists to challenge themselves and explore areas outside their established boundaries while attempting to overcome self imposed limitations.

Artists can also present themselves with the option of translating literally the interpretation of the theme - "Overcoming Barriers" in order to address current economic, social and political issues inherent in our contemporary setting.

The basic format envisaged for this workshop is through dialogue and interaction, translating ideas through practical work, presenting and defending ideas through seminars and open discussions and an exhibition of the results from the workshop.

A one-day seminar on the theme "Role of Art In National Development" will be organised while four art students will later join their professional colleagues for a joint workshop.

The workshop is being organised in collaboration with the French Embassy in Accra and Friends of ArtHAUS.