A Homage to Strength: What We Can Glean from the Splendour of Accra Cultural Week.

In the wake of more than fifty issues exploring the worldwide Black diaspora, this marks a last column. The tenure has been profoundly fulfilling, with sincere thanks extended to all the engaged readers.

A Look Inside the Cultural Week

Attending the showcases, installations and acts of the festival, one sees how exceptional art nourishes and builds a country’s heritage and character. The centrepiece was without doubt Clottey's exquisite [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which put his pioneering afrogallonism in full view: a approach that transforms water vessels into illusory works of art, assemblages of metallic tones. The show was designed as a homage to the strength of Jamestown, a historical quarter of Accra.

This area – mainly inhabited by the Ga ethnic group, a seafaring people – is additionally where numerous freed slaves came back from South America and made their home in the 1830s. Referred to as the Tabom community, they carried with them Brazilian language and traditions.

All across Jamestown, one observes a mix of architecture. Standing is Franklin House, featuring its unique Portuguese construction and door arches. One can also see the prominent beacon, erected in the 19th century and subsequently sporting its distinctive red-and-white-striped exterior.

A Culture of Remembrance

Equally notable about Jamestown is the ubiquitous sight of funeral posters. Wherever you look, be it affixed to alleyways or on larger signboards, one finds funeral details and terms of mourning. In Jamestown, similar to the rest of Ghana, funerals are significant community celebrations.

In this breathtaking installation, the entirety of the visual and auditory essence of Jamestown are present – particularly in the immersive shoreline installation. Here, one is relaxed by the recording of ocean surf with beach material on the floor, while shacks, nets and representations of canoes pay homage to its dynamic, long-standing maritime community. Yet standing in this exhibition space, the mind turns to the mountains of textile waste that threaten the aesthetics and serenity of the shoreline.

Beyond the Main Event

There is additional highlights. Within an raw space at the University of Ghana, artist Reginald Sylvester II showcased On the Other Side of Languish, an incredibly moving, minimalist presentation that featured three-dimensional works and canvases created in concert with metalworkers.

Also featured was the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It included the first solo show of a recent recipient, whose work utilizes familial archival records to produce a artistic representation of life in the nation's recent history. The event also crowned a latest winner, whose varied work is particularly focused on the craft techniques of women in a specific region.

A Permanent Presence

While the overseas community has more and more been drawn back to west Africa during the western winter, an increasing number are contemplating travelling earlier in the year to engage with the area's cultural season. From this festival and similar gatherings, what emerges are cultural ecosystems that are not simply nascent or “rising” but have established an whole universe that is permanent.

Finally, the experience leaves one with a image of Accra that resembles a declaration for ecological stewardship and the preservation of culture. It is a resonant tribute to resilience in all its manifestations.