🔗 Share this article

In the wake of over 50 installments exploring the international Black diaspora, this represents a concluding dispatch. The journey has been incredibly rewarding, with sincere gratitude offered to every one of the engaged audience.

Inside the Cultural Week

Experiencing the exhibitions, presentations and acts of this event, one sees how exceptional art nourishes and constructs a country’s past and identity. The centrepiece was without doubt Serge Attukwei Clottey’s stunning [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which showcased his pioneering afrogallonism for all to see: a philosophy that converts yellow jerrycans into illusory creations, mosaics of yellow, brass and gold. The show was conceived as a tribute to the strength of Jamestown, a venerable neighbourhood of Accra.

This area – predominantly home to the Ga community, a community of fishermen – is also where a great number of freed slaves arrived from South America and established themselves in the 1830s. Referred to as the Tabom, they brought Portuguese tongue and traditions.

Throughout Jamestown, you can see a mix of building designs. You'll find a historic building, featuring its characteristic European-style brickwork and curved entrances. One can also see the famous lighthouse of Jamestown, built in the 1800s and later sporting its signature banded exterior.

A Culture of Mourning

Equally striking about Jamestown is the ever-present presence of memorial notices. On every corner, whether covering buildings or on big hoardings, you’ll see funeral details and expressions of farewell. In Jamestown, as throughout Ghana, funerals are large-scale community celebrations.

In this breathtaking exhibition, the entirety of the sights, sounds and religious textures of Jamestown are present – especially in the engaging beach-themed work. Here, one is relaxed by the sound of the sea with granules at your feet, while shacks, hanging fishing nets and images of vessels honour its dynamic, generational seafaring tradition. However experiencing this exhibition space, it's hard to ignore the mountains of cast-off garments that mar the charm and peace of the region.

In Addition to the Centrepiece

There is additional highlights. Housed in an incomplete building at the local university, artist Sylvester exhibited On the Other Side of Languish, an profoundly affecting, minimalist show that displayed sculptures and paintings created in collaboration with artisans.

And then there is the competition for female artists for female Ghanaian artists. It included the first solo show of a 2024 winner, whose work utilizes historical documents to create a artistic representation of life in post-independence Ghana. The event also announced a current champion, whose diverse work is particularly invested in the textile traditions of women in a specific region.

An Enduring Legacy

Although the overseas community has more and more been drawn home to the region in the winter months, more and more are considering journeying some months earlier to experience the area's artistic calendar. From this festival and other major events, what you’ll find are art scenes that are not merely emerging or “rising” but have forged an whole world that is here to stay.

In the end, the journey provides a perception of Accra that resembles a statement for environmental protection and the safeguarding of tradition. It is a powerful testament to adaptability in all its manifestations.