ABSTRACT
The concept of designing with waste materials is gradually catching on with contemporary artisans. Some visual artists, fashion designers and performance designers have explored the avenue of advocating for a sustainable environment through the use of waste materials as resources for the production of the art works. While the performance culture of Ghana relies on wood for the construction of sets for theatre productions, it has become necessary that with the increasing rate of deforestation, other resources be explored to reduce the pressure on the forest reserves. This ties in to promoting sustainable cultures while finding alternatives to unsustainable cultures through an artistic lens of performance, as is discussed under the theories of cultural sustainability. The discussions of this chapter, with focus on the culture of set design, reference the classical period juxtaposed to the performance culture of old and contemporary Ghana. While arguing for the advancement of sustainable practices, this chapter draws on an artistic approach to solving the waste issues through the analysis of an experiment using waste materials as the main resource for set designing and construction. The analysis is based on the case study of the set design for the production of The Marriage of Anansewa which is geared towards, among other things, sustainability of the environment as its main material for construction is derived from plastic waste.
