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After more than 50 issues delving into the global Black diaspora, this signifies a last dispatch. The experience was profoundly gratifying, with immense gratitude directed to every one of the dedicated audience.

Inside Accra Cultural Week

Attending the showcases, artworks and shows of Accra Cultural Week, it becomes clear how superior art feeds and shapes a nation's heritage and identity. The centrepiece was undoubtedly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s stunning a profound exploration of ritual and time, which put his innovative afrogallonism on full display: a approach that transforms plastic containers into mesmerizing art pieces, mosaics of metallic tones. The exhibition was designed as a testament to the resilience of this area, a historical area of Accra.

The community – largely populated by the Ga ethnic group, a community of fishermen – is also where many freed slaves returned from Brazil and established themselves in the 1830s. Referred to as the Tabom people, they brought Portuguese tongue and customs.

In every part of Jamestown, you can see a fusion of building designs. You'll find Fort Vicentia, with its distinct European-style brickwork and door arches. Also present is the prominent lighthouse of Jamestown, built in the 19th century and subsequently sporting its signature red-and-white-striped appearance.

Customs of Celebration

Equally remarkable about Jamestown is the pervasive sight of memorial notices. Everywhere you turn, whether affixed to walls or on larger hoardings, you’ll see service information and phrases of mourning. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, final rites are significant community celebrations.

In the artist's spectacular exhibition, the entirety of the visual and auditory essence of Jamestown are present – notably in the enveloping shoreline work. In this space, visitors are calmed by the recording of ocean surf with beach material underfoot, while shacks, hanging fishing nets and images of vessels pay homage to its vibrant, generational fishing community. But being present in this exhibition space, the mind turns to the mountains of textile waste that threaten the charm and tranquillity of the region.

Beyond the Headline Act

Accra Cultural Week also features much more. Housed in an incomplete building at the University of Ghana, creator Sylvester presented On the Other Side of Languish, an emotionally powerful, stripped-back show that featured sculptures and artworks created in partnership with artisans.

Another key element is the competition for female artists for Ghanaian women creators. It showcased the inaugural exhibition of a prior laureate, whose work references familial archival records to craft a depiction of life in Ghana after independence. The event also crowned a new winner, whose multidisciplinary work is deeply invested in the textile traditions of women in the Volta region.

A Permanent Presence

Although the diaspora has grown been drawn back to Ghana during the western winter, an increasing number are contemplating travelling some months earlier to engage with the region’s cultural season. From Accra Cultural Week and similar gatherings, what emerges are cultural ecosystems that are not merely emerging or “rising” but have forged an entire world that is permanent.

Ultimately, the visit offers a vision of Accra that serves as a manifesto for ecological stewardship and the preservation of culture. It is a resonant testament to perseverance in all its forms.