🔗 Share this article

In the wake of over 50 installments delving into the international Black diaspora, this marks a final piece. The experience has been deeply gratifying, with great thanks extended to all the engaged followers.

A Look Inside the Cultural Week

Visiting the showcases, installations and shows of this event, one sees how exceptional art sustains and constructs a nation's past and character. The highlight was without doubt the artist's exquisite [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which showcased his innovative afrogallonism in full view: a philosophy that converts plastic containers into mesmerizing creations, tapestries of yellow, brass and gold. The display was designed as a testament to the endurance of the historic district, a historic neighbourhood of Accra.

This area – predominantly home to the Ga community, a fishing community – is also where numerous freed slaves came back from South America and established themselves in the 1830s. Called the Tabom people, they introduced Brazilian language and traditions.

In every part of Jamestown, you can see a mix of architecture. You'll find Franklin House, boasting its unique colonial-era construction and door arches. Another landmark is the iconic beacon, built in the 1871 and subsequently featuring its signature banded appearance.

A Culture of Mourning

Also striking about Jamestown is the pervasive presence of memorial notices. Everywhere you turn, be it plastered over walls or on big signboards, you’ll see service information and expressions of farewell. In Jamestown, similar to the rest of Ghana, funerals are large-scale community celebrations.

In this spectacular exhibition, all of the visual and auditory essence of Jamestown are present – notably in the engaging shoreline work. Within it, you’re soothed by the recording of crashing waves with beach material underfoot, while shacks, nets and representations of vessels pay homage to its dynamic, long-standing maritime community. Yet standing in this venue, the mind turns to the mountains of discarded clothing that compromise the charm and tranquillity of the shoreline.

In Addition to the Headline Act

Accra Cultural Week also features much more. Within an raw space at the University of Ghana, creator Sylvester exhibited a deeply moving minimalist collection, an incredibly moving, minimalist show that displayed three-dimensional works and artworks produced in concert with artisans.

And then there is the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for Ghanaian women creators. It showcased the first solo show of a prior recipient, whose work references personal family archives to craft a visual impression of life in Ghana after independence. The event also crowned a latest champion, whose diverse work is particularly invested in the textile traditions of women in Dabala.

A Permanent Legacy

While the overseas community has increasingly been drawn back to Ghana in the western winter, more and more are considering travelling some months earlier to engage with the region’s festival period. From Accra Cultural Week and other major events, what you’ll find are cultural ecosystems that are not merely emerging or “upcoming” but have built up an entire universe that is permanent.

Finally, the journey leaves one with a perception of Accra that feels like a statement for ecological stewardship and the preservation of tradition. It is a resonant testament to adaptability in all its manifestations.