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After more than fifty issues exploring the worldwide Black diaspora, this signifies a final piece. The tenure was profoundly fulfilling, and great appreciation directed to all the dedicated audience.

Inside the Accra Festival

Attending the showcases, artworks and performances of the festival, one sees how the finest art nourishes and shapes a nation's heritage and identity. The focal point was undoubtedly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s remarkable a profound exploration of ritual and time, which put his pioneering afrogallonism on full display: a philosophy that transforms plastic containers into illusory works of art, mosaics of metallic tones. The display was conceived as a testament to the resilience of the historic district, a venerable neighbourhood of Accra.

Jamestown – largely inhabited by the Ga people, a fishing community – is furthermore where numerous formerly enslaved people arrived from Brazil and made their home in the 1830s. Known as the Tabom, they carried with them Portuguese language and traditions.

All across Jamestown, visitors encounter a mix of architectural styles. You'll find a historic building, featuring its unique colonial-era masonry and curved entrances. One can also see the prominent Jamestown Lighthouse, erected in the 1800s and later given its recognizable striped appearance.

Traditions of Celebration

Equally notable about Jamestown is the ubiquitous presence of obituary announcements. Wherever you look, be it covering walls or on larger signboards, one finds service information and phrases of loss. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, funerals are large-scale social gatherings.

In Clottey’s breathtaking exhibition, the entirety of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are evoked – especially in the immersive shoreline piece. In this space, visitors are calmed by the recording of the sea with beach material underfoot, while shelters, draped nets and depictions of canoes celebrate its vibrant, generational maritime community. But standing in this gallery, one cannot help but think of the mountains of textile waste that compromise the charm and peace of the area.

In Addition to the Centrepiece

There is much more. Within an incomplete building at the campus, creator Reginald Sylvester II presented On the Other Side of Languish, an profoundly affecting, minimalist exhibition that included sculptures and canvases made in concert with welders.

And then there is the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for female Ghanaian artists. It included the first solo show of a prior recipient, whose work references historical documents to craft a depiction of life in the nation's recent history. The event also announced a current winner, whose multidisciplinary work is particularly concerned with the craft techniques of women in a specific region.

A Permanent Legacy

While the overseas community has increasingly been pulled home to west Africa in the colder season, an increasing number are considering travelling for the cultural season to experience the region’s artistic calendar. Between Accra Cultural Week and regional art fairs, what you’ll find are creative communities that are not merely emerging or “upcoming” but have forged an whole world that is here to stay.

Finally, the experience offers a vision of Accra that serves as a declaration for conservation and the safeguarding of tradition. It is a compelling testament to perseverance in all its forms.