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After more than 50 installments exploring the international Black diaspora, this signifies a final dispatch. The journey was incredibly rewarding, with immense appreciation directed to all the engaged readers.

Inside the Cultural Week

Attending the displays, installations and shows of Accra Cultural Week, observers witness how the finest art feeds and shapes a nation's history and character. The centrepiece was without doubt the artist's exquisite a profound exploration of ritual and time, which showcased his groundbreaking afrogallonism for all to see: a approach that converts yellow jerrycans into captivating art pieces, tapestries of yellow, brass and gold. The show was designed as a testament to the strength of the historic district, a historical quarter of Accra.

This area – predominantly populated by the Ga community, a community of fishermen – is also where a great number of formerly enslaved people arrived from South America and made their home in the 1830s. Called the Tabom, they brought Brazilian language and customs.

In every part of Jamestown, you can see a mix of architectural styles. You'll find Franklin House, with its distinct colonial-era construction and arched doorways. One can also see the prominent lighthouse of Jamestown, constructed in the 19th century and eventually featuring its signature red-and-white-striped appearance.

Traditions of Celebration

Furthermore notable about Jamestown is the pervasive sight of memorial notices. Wherever you look, be it plastered over alleyways or on sizable signboards, one finds announcements and phrases of farewell. In Jamestown, similar to the rest of Ghana, funerals are large-scale communal events.

In Clottey’s impressive show, every aspect of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are present – particularly in the engaging shoreline piece. Here, you’re soothed by the audio of crashing waves with granules underfoot, while shacks, draped nets and images of vessels celebrate its spirited, multigenerational maritime community. But experiencing this exhibition space, one cannot help but think of the heaps of textile waste that mar the beauty and serenity of the shoreline.

Beyond the Headline Act

The festival program included additional highlights. Housed in an raw space at the campus, creator Sylvester presented a deeply moving minimalist collection, an emotionally powerful, minimalist exhibition that included sculptures and paintings created in collaboration with welders.

Also featured was the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It included the inaugural exhibition of a prior recipient, whose work references familial archival records to craft a depiction of life in Ghana after independence. The event also honored a latest winner, whose varied work is intensely invested in the craft techniques of women in the Volta region.

An Enduring Presence

While the global African community has grown been pulled home to west Africa in the winter months, a growing cohort are considering visiting for the cultural season to immerse themselves in the region’s festival period. Between Accra Cultural Week and other major events, what you’ll find are cultural ecosystems that are not merely nascent or “upcoming” but have built up an entire world that is permanent.

Finally, the experience provides a perception of Accra that resembles a manifesto for environmental protection and the safeguarding of tradition. It is a resonant homage to perseverance in all its manifestations.