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After over fifty issues navigating the international Black diaspora, this represents a final column. The experience was profoundly fulfilling, and sincere thanks extended to all the engaged followers.

Exploring the Cultural Week

Visiting the displays, presentations and acts of Accra Cultural Week, it becomes clear how exceptional art nourishes and shapes a country’s history and essence. The highlight was certainly Clottey's stunning a profound exploration of ritual and time, which displayed his innovative afrogallonism in full view: a philosophy that converts plastic containers into mesmerizing works of art, assemblages of golden hues. The display was created as a homage to the resilience of this area, a historical neighbourhood of Accra.

Jamestown – predominantly populated by the Ga people, a fishing community – is additionally where a great number of returning Africans arrived from South America and made their home in the 19th century. Called the Tabom, they brought Portuguese language and customs.

In every part of Jamestown, one observes a mix of architectural styles. You'll find a historic building, with its characteristic Portuguese masonry and arched doorways. One can also see the iconic lighthouse of Jamestown, constructed in the 1871 and later given its signature banded facade.

Customs of Remembrance

Furthermore striking about Jamestown is the ever-present sight of memorial notices. Everywhere you turn, be it plastered over walls or on larger billboards, one finds service information and terms of mourning. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, funerals are large-scale community celebrations.

In this breathtaking installation, all of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are captured – especially in the engaging beach-themed piece. Here, visitors are calmed by the audio of crashing waves with granules at your feet, while shacks, nets and representations of canoes celebrate its spirited, multigenerational seafaring tradition. But being present in this exhibition space, one cannot help but think of the mountains of cast-off garments that threaten the beauty and serenity of the shoreline.

Apart from the Centrepiece

There is much more. Housed in an unfinished structure at the local university, creator Reginald Sylvester II exhibited a deeply moving minimalist collection, an profoundly affecting, minimalist presentation that included three-dimensional works and artworks created in partnership with artisans.

Another key element is the prestigious art award for female Ghanaian artists. It featured the first solo show of a 2024 recipient, whose work draws on personal family archives to produce a artistic representation of life in post-independence Ghana. The event also honored a new winner, whose varied work is deeply invested in the craft techniques of women in Dabala.

A Lasting Presence

Although the diaspora has more and more been attracted home to west Africa in the winter months, a growing cohort are thinking about visiting earlier in the year to experience the region’s artistic calendar. From this festival and similar gatherings, what you’ll find are creative communities that are not simply nascent or “rising” but have built up an complete world that is permanent.

Ultimately, the visit leaves one with a vision of Accra that feels like a manifesto for ecological stewardship and the safeguarding of tradition. It is a resonant testament to resilience in all its expressions.