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In the wake of more than fifty editions delving into the international Black diaspora, this marks a final column. The tenure proved incredibly gratifying, and great gratitude directed to every one of the dedicated audience.

Exploring the Accra Festival

Experiencing the displays, installations and acts of this event, it becomes clear how the finest art feeds and constructs a nation's past and identity. The centrepiece was certainly Clottey's stunning a profound exploration of ritual and time, which put his groundbreaking afrogallonism for all to see: a approach that reimagines plastic containers into captivating works of art, tapestries of golden hues. The display was designed as a tribute to the endurance of this area, a venerable neighbourhood of Accra.

This area – largely inhabited by the Ga community, a community of fishermen – is additionally where many formerly enslaved people arrived from Brazil and established themselves in the 1830s. Known as the Tabom, they carried with them Portuguese language and traditions.

In every part of Jamestown, you can see a mix of building designs. Standing is Fort Vicentia, boasting its unique colonial-era masonry and curved entrances. Also present is the famous beacon, constructed in the 19th century and later featuring its distinctive red-and-white-striped facade.

A Culture of Remembrance

Also striking about Jamestown is the ubiquitous presence of memorial notices. On every corner, be it plastered over alleyways or on sizable hoardings, one finds funeral details and phrases of farewell. In Jamestown, similar to the rest of Ghana, final rites are large-scale community celebrations.

In the artist's spectacular installation, every aspect of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are present – notably in the enveloping Jamestown nshonaa work. Within it, you’re soothed by the recording of ocean surf with beach material at your feet, while beach huts, draped nets and images of canoes honour its spirited, multigenerational seafaring tradition. Yet experiencing this gallery, one cannot help but think of the piles of discarded clothing that threaten the beauty and peace of the area.

Apart from the Centrepiece

Accra Cultural Week also features a great deal more. Inside an incomplete building at the University of Ghana, artist Sylvester exhibited a deeply moving minimalist collection, an incredibly moving, minimalist show that displayed sculptures and canvases made in concert with welders.

And then there is the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It included the first solo show of a prior laureate, whose work draws on personal family archives to craft a artistic representation of life in Ghana after independence. The event also crowned a current champion, whose diverse work is intensely concerned with the textile traditions of women in the Volta region.

An Enduring Legacy

Although the global African community has increasingly been pulled home to Ghana during the colder season, a growing cohort are thinking about journeying for the cultural season to experience the area's cultural season. Between this festival and similar gatherings, what emerges are creative communities that are not merely emerging or “upcoming” but have established an entire universe that is permanent.

Ultimately, the experience leaves one with a image of Accra that resembles a declaration for conservation and the safeguarding of tradition. It is a powerful testament to perseverance in all its manifestations.