#bzdrko

BZVision - A Live Art Experience Curated By BZ Ayebea Darko

BZ Ayebea Darko is a creative director that has been changing the art scene in Ghana with her live art experience. Her live art experiences have been a great addition to the art scene in Ghana and a refreshing change from what we are used to. For the first half of the year, BZDRKO seemed to have been quiet because she hasn’t produced anything that was solely hers but she has been steadily gaining experience and gathering coins by working on projects with DSTV and Afrochella just to mention a few.

Her latest project “BZVision” is her first two-day live art experience. Two-days of experiencing the world BZDRKO has created. I sat down with her on a cloudy, cold Accra night to talk BZVision and BZDRKO.

BZVISION: LIVE ART EXPERIENCE EXPLORE THE PHENOMENON OF TELEVISION (BOTH INTERNATIONAL LOCAL) 📺 The installation also features cameos from celebrity personalities such as @EFYA_Nokturnal , & many other WILD surprises. DATE: 3rd & 4th August,2019#BZVISION#RealLiveRealTV pic.twitter.com/GxAScXn38w

— BZ.狗 (@bzdrko) July 17, 2019

Koffi From Vogue - For my readers who are not familiar with what you do and your previous projects, please introduce yourself and your brand?

BZ Darko - I am BZ Ayebea Darko, a creative and art director but I don't like to put myself in a box when it comes to what I do. I do everything art-related; I do live stage programming and directing, in my spare time music videos, more recently art direction for movies, and other visual projects such as ad campaigns, fashion branding and a couple of other things. I like to keep myself busy. My brand is for a lack of better words is "alternative", even though I do not like to use that word. My brand, in a nutshell, would be the antagonist to the protagonist that is "normal". This means my brand constantly evolves because what is considered normal changes with time.

KFV - What inspired you to start a career in creative direction and ultimately start BZDRKO?

BZ - I was going through a very strange transition period where I realized at a certain age that I didn't know, or acted on, what I wanted to do with my life. In my final year of university, I asked myself "why am I studying sociology?" when I knew I wanted to be in the arts. It wasn't because of the usual pressure from Ghanaian parents to study something "useful" in school because my parents are quite liberal, and they support everything I do. At the same time, I was in a house called The Creg with my friends, more like brothers, while I was in the university and they were all artists who were sharpening their skills and working towards something bigger out of university. This set a fire under me and that is how I began the journey to BZDRKO.

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KFV - Tell us about other projects/works you have done.

BZ - My first project was BLKListed which was a live art exhibition. Curated experiences that are different to what is being done in Africa right now is my main stronghold and what I like to focus on. An artist who was in the exhibition loved it and wanted to use it as the setting for his video. So, we used the set of BLKListed to shoot my first music video which is Godzilla by La Meme Gang. That's how I started creating music videos. Then I moved from music videos and started doing more corporate things like live programing for DSTV for the award show season including VGMA's and Glitz Women of the Year awards.

KFV - What is BZVision and your inspiration for it?

BZ - BZVision is a two-day live art experience I have curated which is centered around television. Ever since I was younger, I have always been obsessed with TV and my mother always said I knew how to pronounce all the channels on DSTV before I even said, mum and dad. I was given a job, which I cannot talk much about now, which is centered around creating a TV cable channel in an alternate reality. So, my head has always been in a space for doing something related to TV and I decided my next show was going to be about TV. Also, I have always had big plans for rebranding the entire Ghanaian TV network. Giving it a face lift because Ghanaian television has become stagnant and almost tacky. So, I created BZVision as a portfolio to show what I can do if given the chance.

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KFV - This is your first two-day event. Why did you choose to do two instead of one?

BZ - The specific reason why I am making it two days is because I am used to doing a one-day event where I give all of me and then that's that. I found that with BZVision I wanted it to be more hence the two-day event. I also loved the challenge of having a two-day event and being able to maintain the element of surprise for the second day. I found that very intriguing and I wanted to challenge and push myself as an artist.

KFV - Are all two days going to be different experiences?

BZ - Yes, the two days are different. They will be a running theme for both days and there will be side exhibitions that will there for both days but in terms of the main exhibitions, I do not want to give away too much. There will be different performances for each night and I have curated that to suit the people I am expecting to show up for each night and an online poll where people were able to choose their ending by choosing between two items, treasure chests. These treasure chests have been put into the show on both days.

KFV - Can you tell us about each day?

BZ - There will be two sets of BZVision programs on display for each day. One of them runs through both days which is BZ'a Billions, which is my twisted and messed uptake on a game show, and a different one each day

On Saturday there will be the BZVision rendition of "Concert Party". I believe things that were culturally relevant on television years ago that we used to watch and enjoy are losing their significance now because we enjoy playing with new and shiny things which is great. I, however, believe we must keep things culturally relevant as Ghanaians especially when we are creating art.

On the second day, it is going to be a murder drama, American Horror story, twisted kind of show. I get my inspiration from the Twilight Zone which is like Black Mirror from the '50/60s. It is one of those shows I used to hide and watch because it was rated higher than my age then but it was one of the first shows that thought me that television doesn't only have to be about boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married and live happily ever after.

KFV - What do you want people to take from the BZVision experience?

Most people who go to my event always say they felt like they weren't in Ghana for a few seconds, not that there is anything wrong with Ghana. I want people to be teleported into a space where they feel like they are in televisions shows that they watched when they were young. I want the nostalgia to be instant when they are on the premises. I want people to be SHOOK by the kind of programming I am bringing back. It is also important for me to create a space for people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and paths chosen to be together and chill because there is nowhere to do that in Ghana. I create my events for people to be themselves and in a judgment-free space.

KFV - What is the future for BZDRKO? What projects are you working on and what are some of your dream projects you want to do?

BZ - My projects can to be very sporadic. I have a lot of projects lined up for the holiday season. I am going to work with Afrochella again this year and I am excited about that. I am also trying to work with Afro Nation and other big live program companies coming to Accra. I am interested in working with people who are from the outside coming in, the diaspora market. With my projects, I like to target people who are coming into Ghana and also people who want to see new things being created in Ghana as well as blow their minds with the kind of talent we have here. My dream project really is to work with Tyler the Creator. I think we could really create something special together.