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In the wake of over 50 installments exploring the worldwide Black diaspora, this marks a last column. The experience proved profoundly gratifying, and sincere appreciation offered to all the attentive readers.

A Look Inside the Accra Festival

Attending the displays, presentations and performances of Accra Cultural Week, observers witness how exceptional art feeds and builds a nation's past and essence. The highlight was certainly the artist's stunning a profound exploration of ritual and time, which displayed his groundbreaking afrogallonism for all to see: a concept that converts plastic containers into captivating works of art, mosaics of golden hues. The display was created as a tribute to the endurance of the historic district, a historic quarter of Accra.

Jamestown – predominantly home to the Ga community, a seafaring people – is furthermore where a great number of formerly enslaved people returned from South America and established themselves in the 1830s. Known as the Tabom people, they introduced Brazilian tongue and culture.

Throughout Jamestown, visitors encounter a fusion of architectural styles. You'll find Franklin House, boasting its unique Portuguese brickwork and door arches. One can also see the prominent lighthouse of Jamestown, built in the 19th century and eventually given its signature red-and-white-striped appearance.

A Culture of Mourning

Also striking about Jamestown is the ever-present presence of obituary announcements. Wherever you look, whether covering alleyways or on big signboards, one finds announcements and terms of farewell. In Jamestown, as throughout Ghana, funerals are large-scale communal events.

In this breathtaking exhibition, all of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are evoked – particularly in the engaging beach-themed installation. Within it, you’re soothed by the recording of ocean surf with sand at your feet, while shacks, draped nets and representations of canoes pay homage to its dynamic, long-standing maritime community. Yet being present in this venue, one cannot help but think of the heaps of discarded clothing that mar the aesthetics and tranquillity of the shoreline.

In Addition to the Centrepiece

There is much more. Within an raw space at the local university, artist Sylvester presented On the Other Side of Languish, an incredibly moving, austere show that displayed three-dimensional works and canvases produced in partnership with metalworkers.

Also featured was the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for Ghanaian women creators. It featured the debut presentation of a 2024 laureate, whose work draws on historical documents to create a visual impression of life in Ghana after independence. The event also announced a current champion, whose diverse work is intensely focused on the craft techniques of women in Dabala.

A Permanent Legacy

Although the global African community has increasingly been attracted back to the region in the colder season, an increasing number are considering visiting earlier in the year to engage with 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 forged an entire world that is enduring.

Ultimately, the visit leaves one with a image of Accra that resembles a statement for ecological stewardship and the safeguarding of culture. It is a resonant homage to perseverance in all its forms.