🔗 Share this article

Following in excess of 50 editions delving into the worldwide Black diaspora, this marks a final column. The journey proved deeply rewarding, and immense gratitude offered to every one of the engaged audience.

A Look Inside the Accra Festival

Attending the exhibitions, presentations and performances of this event, one sees how exceptional art nourishes and shapes a nation's heritage and identity. The centrepiece was undoubtedly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s remarkable a profound exploration of ritual and time, which put his pioneering afrogallonism on full display: a concept that reimagines yellow jerrycans into captivating works of art, mosaics of metallic tones. The show was conceived as a homage to the resilience of the historic district, a venerable quarter of Accra.

Jamestown – largely inhabited by the Ga ethnic group, a seafaring people – is furthermore where many returning Africans arrived from Brazil and settled in the 1830s. Referred to as the Tabom community, they carried with them Portuguese tongue and culture.

All across Jamestown, you can see a blend of architecture. There’s a historic building, boasting its unique colonial-era masonry and arched doorways. Another landmark is the iconic Jamestown Lighthouse, built in the 19th century and later given its recognizable striped exterior.

Customs of Remembrance

Equally striking about Jamestown is the ubiquitous presence of memorial notices. On every corner, be it affixed to walls or on sizable billboards, one finds funeral details and phrases of farewell. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, memorial services are significant community celebrations.

In the artist's spectacular installation, the entirety of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are evoked – notably in the enveloping shoreline piece. In this space, visitors are calmed by the sound of crashing waves with granules at your feet, while shacks, nets and images of boats celebrate its dynamic, generational seafaring tradition. However standing in this exhibition space, it's hard to ignore the heaps of cast-off garments that compromise the beauty and serenity of the shoreline.

Beyond the Centrepiece

Accra Cultural Week also features additional highlights. Within an raw space at the local university, creator Reginald Sylvester II showcased On the Other Side of Languish, an profoundly affecting, austere exhibition that included sculptures and paintings created in partnership with artisans.

Also featured was the prestigious art award for female Ghanaian artists. It included the first solo show of a recent laureate, whose work utilizes personal family archives to create a visual impression of life in post-independence Ghana. The event also announced a new champion, whose varied work is intensely focused on the craft techniques of women in the Volta region.

A Permanent Legacy

While the global African community has grown been attracted home to west Africa during the winter months, a growing cohort are thinking about visiting some months earlier to immerse themselves in the area's artistic calendar. Between this festival and similar gatherings, what is evident are creative communities that are not merely new or “upcoming” but have built up an complete universe that is permanent.

Finally, the experience provides a perception of Accra that resembles a statement for conservation and the keeping alive of tradition. It is a powerful tribute to resilience in all its expressions.