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After more than 50 editions exploring the global Black diaspora, this represents a final dispatch. The journey proved deeply gratifying, and sincere appreciation extended to all the attentive readers.

Exploring the Accra Festival

Experiencing the showcases, presentations and acts of Accra Cultural Week, it becomes clear how exceptional art sustains and constructs a nation's heritage and identity. The focal point was undoubtedly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s remarkable [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which displayed his pioneering afrogallonism in full view: a concept that reimagines yellow jerrycans into illusory creations, assemblages of golden hues. The show was created as a tribute to the endurance of this area, a historic quarter of Accra.

This area – largely inhabited by the Ga people, a community of fishermen – is furthermore where many freed slaves returned from Brazil and made their home in the 1830s. Called the Tabom community, they brought Portuguese tongue and customs.

Throughout Jamestown, one observes a fusion of building designs. There’s Franklin House, featuring its unique Portuguese brickwork and curved entrances. Another landmark is the iconic lighthouse of Jamestown, constructed in the 1800s and later sporting its signature striped appearance.

Traditions of Celebration

Furthermore notable about Jamestown is the ever-present presence of memorial notices. Everywhere you turn, be it affixed to buildings or on larger hoardings, there are funeral details and phrases of mourning. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, final rites are major community celebrations.

In this breathtaking show, the entirety of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are captured – especially in the enveloping shoreline piece. Here, visitors are calmed by the audio of ocean surf with granules underfoot, while beach huts, draped nets and depictions of boats pay homage to its dynamic, long-standing maritime community. Yet being present in this exhibition space, it's hard to ignore the heaps of textile waste that threaten the charm and serenity of the region.

Apart from the Centrepiece

The festival program included a great deal more. Within an unfinished structure at the University of Ghana, artist Sylvester showcased a deeply moving minimalist collection, an emotionally powerful, stripped-back exhibition that included sculptures and paintings created in concert with artisans.

And then there is the competition for female artists for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It featured the first solo show of a 2024 winner, whose work draws on familial archival records to produce a visual impression of life in post-independence Ghana. The event also announced a new champion, whose varied work is intensely concerned with the craft techniques of women in the Volta region.

A Lasting Presence

While the overseas community has increasingly been attracted home to the region during the colder season, a growing cohort are contemplating visiting earlier in the year to experience the area's cultural season. From this festival and regional art fairs, what is evident are art scenes that are not simply new or “rising” but have built up an entire world that is enduring.

Finally, the visit leaves one with a vision of Accra that resembles a manifesto for environmental protection and the keeping alive of tradition. It is a powerful homage to adaptability in all its manifestations.