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After over 50 issues delving into the global Black diaspora, this signifies a last piece. The journey has been deeply gratifying, and immense gratitude directed to all the engaged audience.

Inside Accra Cultural Week

Attending the exhibitions, artworks and acts of Accra Cultural Week, observers witness how superior art sustains and constructs a country’s history and identity. The focal point was certainly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s exquisite [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which displayed his groundbreaking afrogallonism in full view: a approach that reimagines plastic containers into captivating works of art, tapestries of metallic tones. The show was conceived as a testament to the strength of the historic district, a historical neighbourhood of Accra.

The community – mainly home to the Ga ethnic group, a seafaring people – is also where many returning Africans arrived from Brazil and made their home in the 1830s. Called the Tabom people, they carried with them Portuguese language and traditions.

In every part of Jamestown, you can see a fusion of architectural styles. Standing is Franklin House, boasting its distinct colonial-era construction and curved entrances. Also present is the prominent lighthouse of Jamestown, erected in the 1800s and subsequently featuring its signature red-and-white-striped exterior.

A Culture of Remembrance

Equally striking about Jamestown is the ever-present presence of funeral posters. On every corner, be it plastered over buildings or on larger hoardings, you’ll see service information and expressions of loss. In Jamestown, as throughout Ghana, final rites are large-scale community celebrations.

In Clottey’s breathtaking installation, the entirety of the visual and auditory essence of Jamestown are captured – notably in the enveloping shoreline installation. In this space, you’re soothed by the recording of crashing waves with beach material underfoot, while shacks, draped nets and depictions of boats pay homage to its spirited, multigenerational seafaring tradition. However standing in this venue, it's hard to ignore the heaps of discarded clothing that threaten the aesthetics and peace of the area.

Apart from the Main Event

Accra Cultural Week also features additional highlights. Housed in an raw space at the campus, creator Reginald Sylvester II presented On the Other Side of Languish, an incredibly moving, stripped-back presentation that featured sculptures and paintings made in collaboration with welders.

And then there is the competition for female artists for female Ghanaian artists. It included the debut presentation of a recent laureate, whose work utilizes familial archival records to create a depiction of life in the nation's recent history. The event also announced a new champion, whose multidisciplinary work is deeply focused on the weaving practices of women in the Volta region.

A Lasting Legacy

Although the global African community has grown been attracted back to the region in the colder season, an increasing number are thinking about visiting earlier in the year to engage with the area's festival period. From this festival and other major events, what you’ll find are art scenes that are not simply nascent or “upcoming” but have established an complete landscape that is enduring.

Finally, the experience provides a vision of Accra that feels like a statement for conservation and the keeping alive of tradition. It is a compelling testament to perseverance in all its expressions.