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After over fifty editions exploring the international Black diaspora, this signifies a last dispatch. The experience has been profoundly gratifying, with sincere appreciation directed to every one of the dedicated followers.

Exploring the Cultural Week

Experiencing the exhibitions, artworks and acts of this event, observers witness how exceptional art nourishes and shapes a country’s history and identity. The centrepiece was undoubtedly Clottey's stunning a profound exploration of ritual and time, which put his pioneering afrogallonism in full view: a concept that transforms yellow jerrycans into captivating works of art, assemblages of yellow, brass and gold. The show was created as a testament to the resilience of this area, a historical neighbourhood of Accra.

This area – mainly inhabited by the Ga people, a fishing community – is also where many freed slaves came back from South America and settled in the 1830s. Known as the Tabom people, they carried with them Brazilian language and culture.

In every part of Jamestown, visitors encounter a blend of building designs. You'll find a historic building, boasting its unique Portuguese construction and door arches. One can also see the iconic Jamestown Lighthouse, erected in the 1800s and subsequently featuring its signature banded exterior.

Traditions of Remembrance

Equally notable about Jamestown is the pervasive presence of memorial notices. Wherever you look, be it plastered over walls or on big billboards, there are service information and expressions of farewell. In Jamestown, as throughout Ghana, final rites are major communal events.

In this breathtaking exhibition, all of the visual and auditory essence of Jamestown are present – especially in the immersive Jamestown nshonaa piece. Here, you’re soothed by the sound of crashing waves with beach material at your feet, while beach huts, nets and images of canoes pay homage to its vibrant, generational maritime community. However being present in this venue, one cannot help but think of the heaps of cast-off garments that compromise the charm and tranquillity of the area.

In Addition to the Centrepiece

Accra Cultural Week also features a great deal more. Within an raw space at the local university, artist Sylvester exhibited a deeply moving minimalist collection, an profoundly affecting, stripped-back presentation that included sculptures and paintings created in concert with artisans.

Also featured was the competition for female artists for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It showcased the debut presentation of a recent winner, whose work draws on historical documents to craft a visual impression of life in the nation's recent history. The event also honored a new champion, whose varied work is intensely focused on the textile traditions of women in a specific region.

A Lasting Presence

While the diaspora has more and more been attracted back to Ghana in the western winter, a growing cohort are thinking about travelling earlier in the year to engage with the region’s festival period. Between this festival and other major events, what is evident are creative communities that are not merely nascent or “upcoming” but have built up an whole universe that is here to stay.

Ultimately, the experience leaves one with a vision of Accra that resembles a manifesto for conservation and the preservation of culture. It is a resonant testament to resilience in all its expressions.