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In the wake of over 50 installments exploring the global Black diaspora, this signifies a final piece. The experience was profoundly rewarding, and immense appreciation extended to all the engaged readers.

A Look Inside the Cultural Week

Experiencing the displays, installations and acts of Accra Cultural Week, one sees how exceptional art nourishes and shapes a nation's history and identity. The centrepiece was certainly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s exquisite a profound exploration of ritual and time, which put his innovative afrogallonism for all to see: a approach that transforms yellow jerrycans into mesmerizing art pieces, assemblages of golden hues. The show was conceived as a tribute to the strength of this area, a historic area of Accra.

The community – predominantly home to the Ga people, a community of fishermen – is also where many formerly enslaved people came back from South America and established themselves in the 1830s. Known as the Tabom community, they brought Brazilian language and culture.

Throughout Jamestown, visitors encounter a mix of building designs. You'll find a historic building, boasting its characteristic European-style brickwork and curved entrances. Another landmark is the prominent Jamestown Lighthouse, constructed in the 1800s and eventually sporting its distinctive red-and-white-striped exterior.

Traditions of Remembrance

Also remarkable about Jamestown is the ubiquitous presence of obituary announcements. Wherever you look, whether plastered over walls or on larger signboards, you’ll see announcements and phrases of loss. In Jamestown, similar to the rest of Ghana, funerals are major social gatherings.

In Clottey’s breathtaking exhibition, the entirety of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are present – especially in the engaging beach-themed piece. Within it, visitors are calmed by the sound of the sea with beach material at your feet, while shelters, draped nets and representations of canoes pay homage to its dynamic, long-standing seafaring tradition. But experiencing this venue, the mind turns to the heaps of cast-off garments that mar the charm and serenity of the shoreline.

Beyond the Main Event

There is a great deal more. Inside an raw space at the campus, creator Reginald Sylvester II exhibited a deeply moving minimalist collection, an incredibly moving, stripped-back show that included sculptures and paintings created in collaboration with metalworkers.

Another key element is the competition for female artists for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It featured the inaugural exhibition of a recent recipient, whose work utilizes familial archival records to produce a visual impression of life in the nation's recent history. The event also announced a new champion, whose varied work is particularly focused on the weaving practices of women in the Volta region.

A Lasting Legacy

Although the global African community has more and more been attracted back to the region during the western winter, more and more are thinking about visiting some months earlier to experience the area's cultural season. From this festival and other major events, what emerges are art scenes that are not merely new or “upcoming” but have established an entire universe that is here to stay.

Finally, the visit offers a image of Accra that resembles a declaration for environmental protection and the preservation of culture. It is a compelling tribute to perseverance in all its forms.