🔗 Share this article

Following in excess of fifty installments navigating the worldwide Black diaspora, this signifies a final dispatch. The tenure proved profoundly gratifying, and immense thanks offered to every one of the dedicated readers.

Inside the Accra Festival

Attending the displays, installations and performances of Accra Cultural Week, observers witness how superior art feeds and constructs a nation's past and essence. The focal point was certainly the artist's stunning [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which displayed his pioneering afrogallonism on full display: a approach that transforms yellow jerrycans into illusory works of art, assemblages of yellow, brass and gold. The exhibition was designed as a testament to the resilience of this area, a historic quarter of Accra.

This area – mainly home to the Ga community, a community of fishermen – is also where many freed slaves returned from Brazil and settled in the 1830s. Called the Tabom people, they carried with them Portuguese tongue and traditions.

Throughout Jamestown, one observes a blend of architectural styles. There’s Franklin House, boasting its distinct European-style masonry and curved entrances. One can also see the famous Jamestown Lighthouse, erected in the 19th century and later given its recognizable red-and-white-striped appearance.

Traditions of Remembrance

Equally notable about Jamestown is the ubiquitous presence of memorial notices. On every corner, be it plastered over buildings or on big signboards, one finds announcements and terms of loss. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, memorial services are major communal events.

In Clottey’s spectacular installation, the entirety of the sights, sounds and religious textures of Jamestown are present – especially in the immersive beach-themed work. In this space, you’re soothed by the recording of the sea with beach material at your feet, while shelters, draped nets and images of canoes celebrate its vibrant, generational seafaring tradition. However being present in this gallery, one cannot help but think of the piles of discarded clothing that mar the beauty and peace of the region.

Apart from the Centrepiece

There is much more. Housed in an incomplete building at the University of Ghana, creator Reginald Sylvester II showcased a deeply moving minimalist collection, an incredibly moving, austere show that included three-dimensional works and artworks made in partnership with welders.

Also featured was the prestigious art award for Ghanaian women creators. It showcased the inaugural exhibition of a recent winner, whose work utilizes personal family archives to craft a depiction of life in the nation's recent history. The event also crowned a new champion, whose varied work is deeply focused on the textile traditions of women in a specific region.

A Permanent Presence

Although the overseas community has increasingly been drawn back to the region in the winter months, a growing cohort are thinking about travelling for the cultural season to immerse themselves in the region’s cultural season. From Accra Cultural Week and regional art fairs, what you’ll find are creative communities that are not merely emerging or “upcoming” but have forged an complete world that is permanent.

Finally, the visit leaves one with a image of Accra that serves as a statement for ecological stewardship and the safeguarding of tradition. It is a powerful testament to resilience in all its forms.