A Tribute to Strength: Lessons to Glean from the Splendour of Accra's Cultural Festival.

After in excess of fifty installments navigating the worldwide Black diaspora, this marks a final column. The journey has been profoundly fulfilling, with great thanks directed to every one of the engaged followers.

Exploring Accra Cultural Week

Experiencing the displays, presentations and acts of this event, it becomes clear how exceptional art feeds 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 showcased his pioneering afrogallonism in full view: a philosophy that converts yellow jerrycans into illusory creations, tapestries of yellow, brass and gold. The exhibition was created as a tribute to the strength of the historic district, a historic quarter of Accra.

Jamestown – mainly home to the Ga community, a community of fishermen – is also where numerous formerly enslaved people came back from South America and made their home in the 19th century. Called the Tabom people, they carried with them Portuguese language and customs.

All across Jamestown, visitors encounter a blend of architecture. There’s Franklin House, featuring its distinct European-style brickwork and arched doorways. Another landmark is the famous beacon, built in the 1800s and later sporting its signature red-and-white-striped exterior.

Customs of Mourning

Also remarkable about Jamestown is the ubiquitous sight of funeral posters. Everywhere you turn, whether plastered over walls or on larger billboards, there are service information and phrases of farewell. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, memorial services are significant community celebrations.

In the artist's impressive exhibition, the entirety of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are captured – notably in the immersive Jamestown nshonaa piece. Here, one is relaxed by the sound of crashing waves with granules at your feet, while shelters, nets and depictions of boats celebrate its spirited, multigenerational maritime community. Yet being present in this gallery, it's hard to ignore the heaps of cast-off garments that mar the beauty and tranquillity of the area.

Apart from the Headline Act

There is additional highlights. Inside an unfinished structure at the campus, artist Sylvester exhibited On the Other Side of Languish, an profoundly affecting, stripped-back exhibition that displayed sculptures and artworks produced in partnership with artisans.

And then there is the prestigious art award for female Ghanaian artists. It showcased the debut presentation of a recent winner, whose work utilizes historical documents to produce a artistic representation of life in post-independence Ghana. The event also honored a current champion, whose varied work is particularly focused on the textile traditions of women in Dabala.

A Permanent Impact

Although the diaspora has increasingly been pulled home to Ghana during the western winter, an increasing number are considering travelling earlier in the year to immerse themselves in the area's festival period. From Accra Cultural Week and similar gatherings, what emerges are creative communities that are not simply emerging or “upcoming” but have forged an complete universe that is enduring.

In the end, the journey provides a vision of Accra that resembles a declaration for environmental protection and the safeguarding of culture. It is a resonant testament to perseverance in all its expressions.