The Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation (BAPMAF) is a Ghanaian NGO established in 1990 by Professor John Collins, encouraged and assisted by a group of leading Ghanaian popular musicians (King Bruce, E.T. Mensah, Beattie Casely-Hayford, Koo Nimo, Kwaa Mensah) who were concerned with the lack of research and information on local Ghanaian highlife music and the demise of the ‘classical’ styles of this genre. Since then the archives have expanded into other areas of African music; both popular and traditional.
Since its establishment people and institutions from Ghana and around the world such as musicians, students, cultural centres, universities, journalists and people from the general public have been benefiting from BAPMAF and its musical archives and treasures. In the effort to keep the Ghanaian music cultures alive, BAPMAF has also been involved in the organisation of cultural events including seminars and films, photo exhibitions, concerts and music performances.
In 2007, after extensive re-building the BAPMAF premises were re-opened as the BAPMAF Highlife–Music Institute. It consists of 2,400 sq feet that include a photo exhibition room, seminar room, digital documentation room, audio-video lab, listening booths and library for photos, video, printed matter and recorded music.
Materials at the BAPMAF Highlife Centre includes 700 photographs, 700 publications as well as many rare documents, speeches, brochures, posters, record sleeves. 40 videos and 1,500 hours of recorded music; including 780 old highlife songs on shellac 78 rpm records and master-tapes of Ghanaian music recorded by John Collins Bokoor Recording Studio in the 1980’s.
Since its establishment people and institutions from Ghana and around the world such as musicians, students, cultural centres, universities, journalists and people from the general public have been benefiting f
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