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Following over fifty editions exploring the global Black diaspora, this signifies a final column. The experience has been incredibly fulfilling, and great gratitude offered to every one of the engaged audience.

Inside Accra Cultural Week

Attending the exhibitions, artworks and shows of the festival, one sees how superior art nourishes and builds a country’s past and essence. The centrepiece was without doubt Serge Attukwei Clottey’s remarkable [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which showcased his innovative afrogallonism in full view: a philosophy that reimagines yellow jerrycans into mesmerizing creations, mosaics of metallic tones. The exhibition was created as a homage to the strength of Jamestown, a historic neighbourhood of Accra.

The community – largely home to the Ga people, a community of fishermen – is additionally where many returning Africans came back from Brazil and made their home in the 19th century. Referred to as the Tabom, they carried with them Portuguese language and traditions.

Throughout Jamestown, you can see a fusion of architectural styles. You'll find Fort Vicentia, with its distinct Portuguese masonry and door arches. Another landmark is the iconic beacon, erected in the 1800s and eventually given its recognizable red-and-white-striped facade.

Customs of Remembrance

Equally striking about Jamestown is the pervasive presence of funeral posters. Wherever you look, whether plastered over walls or on big signboards, you’ll see funeral details and terms of farewell. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, final rites are significant communal events.

In Clottey’s breathtaking exhibition, every aspect of the sights, sounds and religious textures of Jamestown are evoked – particularly in the enveloping shoreline work. Here, visitors are calmed by the sound of ocean surf with sand at your feet, while shelters, hanging fishing nets and images of boats honour its vibrant, long-standing fishing community. But experiencing this venue, the mind turns to the heaps of cast-off garments that compromise the charm and tranquillity of the region.

Beyond the Centrepiece

The festival program included much more. Inside an incomplete building at the local university, creator Sylvester presented a deeply moving minimalist collection, an profoundly affecting, minimalist presentation that displayed three-dimensional works and artworks produced in concert with artisans.

And then there is the prestigious art award for Ghanaian women creators. It included the first solo show of a 2024 recipient, whose work utilizes familial archival records to craft a artistic representation of life in the nation's recent history. The event also announced a new champion, whose multidisciplinary work is intensely invested in the textile traditions of women in a specific region.

A Permanent Legacy

While the overseas community has grown been pulled back to west Africa in the colder season, a growing cohort are contemplating travelling for the cultural season to experience the region’s festival period. Between this festival and other major events, what emerges are art scenes that are not simply new or “upcoming” but have established an whole landscape that is here to stay.

Finally, the visit provides a perception of Accra that feels like a manifesto for conservation and the keeping alive of culture. It is a resonant homage to perseverance in all its expressions.