🔗 Share this article

After over 50 issues navigating the global Black diaspora, this represents a last piece. The tenure was profoundly rewarding, with sincere gratitude extended to every one of the attentive audience.

A Look Inside Accra Cultural Week

Attending the exhibitions, installations and performances of the festival, observers witness how superior art nourishes and shapes a country’s heritage and essence. The focal point was without doubt Serge Attukwei Clottey’s remarkable [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which showcased his innovative afrogallonism for all to see: a approach that transforms plastic containers into captivating art pieces, tapestries of golden hues. The show was created as a homage to the resilience of this area, a historical area of Accra.

Jamestown – predominantly inhabited by the Ga community, a fishing community – is additionally where a great number of freed slaves arrived from South America and settled in the 19th century. Called the Tabom people, they carried with them Brazilian tongue and customs.

In every part of Jamestown, visitors encounter a blend of building designs. Standing is Fort Vicentia, boasting its unique European-style construction and curved entrances. One can also see the prominent lighthouse of Jamestown, erected in the 19th century and eventually sporting its recognizable red-and-white-striped facade.

A Culture of Mourning

Furthermore striking about Jamestown is the pervasive sight of obituary announcements. Wherever you look, whether plastered over walls or on sizable billboards, you’ll see service information and terms of loss. In Jamestown, as throughout Ghana, memorial services are large-scale social gatherings.

In this spectacular installation, the entirety of the visual and auditory essence of Jamestown are evoked – notably in the immersive beach-themed work. Here, you’re soothed by the audio of ocean surf with sand underfoot, while shelters, draped nets and depictions of vessels pay homage to its dynamic, generational seafaring tradition. Yet experiencing this exhibition space, it's hard to ignore the piles of textile waste that compromise the beauty and peace of the area.

Beyond the Headline Act

Accra Cultural Week also features a great deal more. Inside an raw space at the University of Ghana, artist Sylvester exhibited On the Other Side of Languish, an profoundly affecting, stripped-back presentation that displayed three-dimensional works and paintings produced in collaboration with artisans.

Another key element is the prestigious art award for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It featured the first solo show of a prior laureate, whose work references personal family archives to craft a visual impression of life in post-independence Ghana. The event also announced a current winner, whose diverse work is deeply focused on the craft techniques of women in the Volta region.

A Permanent Presence

Although the global African community has grown been drawn back to west Africa during the western winter, more and more are contemplating journeying some months earlier to experience the region’s cultural season. From Accra Cultural Week and similar gatherings, what emerges are art scenes that are not simply new or “upcoming” but have established an complete landscape that is here to stay.

Finally, the journey leaves one with a image of Accra that serves as a statement for ecological stewardship and the preservation of heritage. It is a powerful tribute to adaptability in all its manifestations.