The idea of a body that brings Ghanaian visual artists under one umbrella was made tangible in August 1991 when the Ghana Association of visual Artists (GAVA) was formed. It created a rallying point for sculptors, ceramists, designers, painters, textile artists, bead designers, jewelers and other creatives whose work fall under Visual Art.

The association gained state recognition and was accepted into the membership of organizations like Ghana Culture Forum, CopyGhana, and the International Association of Art. (IAA).

The state ministry responsible for the arts also gave GAVA its assent and the Centre for National Culture Accra, provided a base for the association to use as its headquarters. From here GAVA spread to the Central Region then to the Eastern Region and now it has a firm presence in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
The objective is to be established in all the other regions in the country before long.

The pioneers of GAVA had very well-defined aims that motivated the idea of a national artists association;

• To re-ignite a national interest in and appreciation of Visual Arts which use to be very high in
  the 60s but which has waned significantly in the recent days. That interest which gave massive
  national acclaim to artists like Kofi Antubam, Kobina Bucknor, Saka Acquaye, Theodosia Okoh,
  Amon Kotei and others and gave them their rightful places in national development.
• To campaign for state authorities to make the training of visual artists one of the national
  priorities and to be ready and willing to assist in that quest.
• To encourage the Ghanaian to recognize and acknowledge the creativity in each of us and
  understand its essence and potential for development, both personally and collectively.
• To champion the preservation and promotion of Ghanaian visual arts and help guard against their loss and
  destruction.
• To serve as a link between Ghanaian visual artists and their international counterparts.
• To be the foremost reference point for the state and for others regarding matters of Ghanaian visual art.
• To bring visual artists in Ghana together in interactives with themselves and with their counterparts abroad.

The quest to achieve all our aims is of great priority to both the leadership and the general membership of the association. This manifests itself in activities that characterize the various branches annually. Seminars, workshops, advocacy programs on radio and television, social media interactions, exhibitions, excursions, exchange programs, capacity building in various forms and other endeavors are on GAVA’s annual itinerary, all in the effort to gain enough national currency and recognition with which the achievement of our aims would be more probable and tangible.

VARIATIONS 2019 is one of many exhibitions organized in line with the GAVA blueprint for the achievement of our aims and objectives. We congratulate the Ghana Association of Visual Artists, Greater Accra (GAVA, GA) for this laudable effort and urge them to keep the creative spirit alive and active