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After over fifty issues delving into the global Black diaspora, this represents a final column. The journey was deeply fulfilling, and great appreciation directed to every one of the engaged audience.

Inside Accra Cultural Week

Visiting the displays, artworks and acts of the festival, it becomes clear how the finest art sustains and constructs a country’s past and character. The highlight was certainly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s remarkable [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which showcased his innovative afrogallonism for all to see: a concept that reimagines water vessels into captivating art pieces, assemblages of golden hues. The exhibition was created as a tribute to the endurance of the historic district, a historical neighbourhood of Accra.

Jamestown – mainly inhabited by the Ga ethnic group, a seafaring people – is additionally where numerous formerly enslaved people came back from Brazil and settled in the 1830s. Referred to as the Tabom, they carried with them Brazilian language and customs.

In every part of Jamestown, one observes a fusion of building designs. Standing is Fort Vicentia, featuring its unique European-style masonry and door arches. Also present is the prominent Jamestown Lighthouse, built in the 1800s and subsequently featuring its distinctive striped facade.

Customs of Celebration

Equally striking about Jamestown is the ubiquitous sight of funeral posters. Wherever you look, whether covering walls or on big hoardings, you’ll see funeral details and terms of mourning. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, memorial services are large-scale community celebrations.

In the artist's impressive exhibition, all of the visual and auditory essence of Jamestown are present – especially in the immersive Jamestown nshonaa piece. In this space, visitors are calmed by the audio of the sea with beach material underfoot, while shelters, hanging fishing nets and images of canoes celebrate its vibrant, generational maritime community. But being present in this gallery, the mind turns to the mountains of discarded clothing that mar the beauty and tranquillity of the region.

In Addition to the Headline Act

There is a great deal more. Inside an raw space at the University of Ghana, artist Sylvester presented a deeply moving minimalist collection, an emotionally powerful, stripped-back presentation that featured sculptures and paintings made in concert with welders.

Another key element is the competition for female artists for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It featured the inaugural exhibition of a prior winner, whose work draws on personal family archives to craft a depiction of life in the nation's recent history. The event also crowned a new winner, whose varied work is intensely invested in the weaving practices of women in the Volta region.

A Permanent Impact

Although the diaspora has more and more been drawn home to the region during the winter months, an increasing number are thinking about travelling for the cultural season to immerse themselves in the area's cultural season. Between Accra Cultural Week and similar gatherings, what you’ll find are art scenes that are not merely nascent or “upcoming” but have forged an complete world that is permanent.

Ultimately, the journey provides a vision of Accra that resembles a statement for ecological stewardship and the keeping alive of culture. It is a compelling tribute to perseverance in all its expressions.