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In the wake of in excess of 50 issues navigating the global Black diaspora, this marks a final dispatch. The experience was profoundly rewarding, with great appreciation extended to every one of the engaged readers.

Exploring the Cultural Week

Experiencing the showcases, presentations and acts of Accra Cultural Week, observers witness how the finest art feeds and shapes a country’s history and identity. The focal point was without doubt the artist's exquisite [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which showcased his pioneering afrogallonism on full display: a concept that transforms plastic containers into captivating works of art, tapestries of metallic tones. The exhibition was created as a tribute to the resilience of Jamestown, a venerable area of Accra.

This area – largely inhabited by the Ga people, a seafaring people – is also where numerous formerly enslaved people came back from South America and established themselves in the 19th century. Called the Tabom community, they brought Brazilian tongue and customs.

Throughout Jamestown, visitors encounter a fusion of building designs. You'll find a historic building, with its unique European-style brickwork and arched doorways. Also present is the famous Jamestown Lighthouse, constructed in the 1871 and subsequently sporting its distinctive banded facade.

Traditions of Celebration

Also remarkable about Jamestown is the pervasive presence of obituary announcements. Wherever you look, whether plastered over buildings or on sizable hoardings, one finds funeral details and expressions of loss. In Jamestown, as throughout Ghana, final rites are large-scale community celebrations.

In this spectacular installation, every aspect of the sights, sounds and religious textures of Jamestown are present – especially in the engaging Jamestown nshonaa piece. Within it, visitors are calmed by the sound of ocean surf with granules on the floor, while shacks, hanging fishing nets and depictions of canoes celebrate its dynamic, generational maritime community. But standing in this gallery, one cannot help but think of the mountains of textile waste that threaten the charm and peace of the shoreline.

Beyond the Headline Act

There is additional highlights. Housed in an raw space at the campus, artist Sylvester showcased On the Other Side of Languish, an incredibly moving, stripped-back exhibition that featured sculptures and paintings created in concert with metalworkers.

Also featured was the prestigious art award for Ghanaian women creators. It included the debut presentation of a prior winner, whose work utilizes personal family archives to produce a depiction of life in the nation's recent history. The event also crowned a new winner, whose diverse work is deeply focused on the craft techniques of women in the Volta region.

A Lasting Legacy

While the global African community has grown been drawn home to Ghana in the western winter, a growing cohort are thinking about visiting for the cultural season to experience the region’s festival period. From Accra Cultural Week and other major events, what is evident are creative communities that are not merely nascent or “upcoming” but have forged an entire universe that is enduring.

Finally, the experience provides a image of Accra that resembles a manifesto for environmental protection and the preservation of culture. It is a powerful homage to adaptability in all its forms.