🔗 Share this article

Following in excess of 50 issues exploring the international Black diaspora, this marks a last column. The journey proved incredibly gratifying, and great thanks directed to all the engaged followers.

Exploring Accra Cultural Week

Visiting the displays, installations and acts of Accra Cultural Week, one sees how exceptional art nourishes and builds a country’s heritage and essence. The focal point was certainly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s remarkable [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which displayed his groundbreaking afrogallonism in full view: a concept that converts yellow jerrycans into captivating creations, mosaics of yellow, brass and gold. The show was conceived as a testament to the resilience of the historic district, a historic neighbourhood of Accra.

This area – mainly populated by the Ga ethnic group, a seafaring people – is also where many returning Africans arrived from Brazil and established themselves in the 19th century. Known as the Tabom, they carried with them Portuguese language and culture.

All across Jamestown, one observes a fusion of architectural styles. You'll find Fort Vicentia, boasting its distinct colonial-era brickwork and door arches. One can also see the iconic beacon, built in the 19th century and eventually sporting its signature banded facade.

Customs of Mourning

Furthermore notable about Jamestown is the ubiquitous sight of funeral posters. On every corner, whether affixed to walls or on big billboards, there are funeral details and terms of loss. In Jamestown, similar to the rest of Ghana, final rites are major social gatherings.

In this impressive installation, every aspect of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are evoked – notably in the immersive shoreline installation. In this space, one is relaxed by the recording of the sea with sand underfoot, while shacks, nets and representations of vessels pay homage to its spirited, generational fishing community. But standing in this exhibition space, the mind turns to the piles of discarded clothing that threaten the charm and tranquillity of the shoreline.

Beyond the Centrepiece

The festival program included much more. Within an incomplete building at the campus, artist Reginald Sylvester II presented a deeply moving minimalist collection, an profoundly affecting, minimalist exhibition that displayed sculptures and paintings created in concert with welders.

And then there is the competition for female artists for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It showcased the debut presentation of a prior winner, whose work utilizes historical documents to craft a artistic representation of life in Ghana after independence. The event also honored a latest champion, whose diverse work is deeply invested in the textile traditions of women in the Volta region.

A Permanent Legacy

While the diaspora has increasingly been pulled back to the region in the winter months, an increasing number are considering journeying earlier in the year to immerse themselves in the region’s cultural season. From Accra Cultural Week and similar gatherings, what you’ll find are cultural ecosystems that are not simply new or “rising” but have forged an whole universe that is here to stay.

In the end, the visit provides a vision of Accra that serves as a manifesto for ecological stewardship and the preservation of culture. It is a resonant tribute to adaptability in all its forms.