An Ode to Fortitude: Lessons to Glean from the Splendour of Accra's Cultural Festival.

Following in excess of fifty installments navigating the worldwide Black diaspora, this signifies a final column. The tenure proved profoundly fulfilling, with immense thanks offered to every one of the dedicated audience.

Inside Accra Cultural Week

Experiencing the displays, presentations and acts of this event, one sees how the finest art sustains and constructs a country’s heritage and identity. The centrepiece was certainly Clottey's stunning [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which put his groundbreaking afrogallonism for all to see: a concept that converts plastic containers into mesmerizing works of art, assemblages of golden hues. The display was conceived as a testament to the endurance of Jamestown, a historical neighbourhood of Accra.

This area – predominantly populated by the Ga people, a fishing community – is furthermore where a great number of freed slaves came back from Brazil and made their home in the 1830s. Called the Tabom, they brought Portuguese language and customs.

In every part of Jamestown, you can see a mix of architectural styles. There’s a historic building, boasting its unique Portuguese masonry and arched doorways. Another landmark is the iconic beacon, erected in the 1871 and subsequently sporting its distinctive striped appearance.

Customs of Remembrance

Equally remarkable about Jamestown is the ubiquitous presence of obituary announcements. Everywhere you turn, be it plastered over walls or on larger hoardings, you’ll see funeral details and expressions of mourning. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, funerals are major communal events.

In Clottey’s spectacular installation, all of the visual and auditory essence of Jamestown are captured – particularly in the engaging Jamestown nshonaa work. Here, visitors are calmed by the audio of crashing waves with granules at your feet, while beach huts, hanging fishing nets and depictions of vessels celebrate its dynamic, long-standing maritime community. However being present in this exhibition space, it's hard to ignore the piles of textile waste that compromise the aesthetics and peace of the region.

Apart from the Headline Act

Accra Cultural Week also features much more. Housed in an unfinished structure at the local university, artist Sylvester exhibited On the Other Side of Languish, an profoundly affecting, stripped-back exhibition that included sculptures and canvases made in concert with metalworkers.

And then there is the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for women artists of Ghanaian origin. It featured the debut presentation of a prior recipient, whose work draws on familial archival records to create a depiction of life in Ghana after independence. The event also crowned a latest champion, whose diverse work is particularly concerned with the craft techniques of women in Dabala.

A Permanent Impact

Although the diaspora has grown been attracted back to west Africa during the western winter, more and more are thinking about travelling earlier in the year to experience the region’s cultural season. From Accra Cultural Week and similar gatherings, what is evident are creative communities that are not simply nascent or “rising” but have built up an complete universe that is permanent.

Finally, the visit offers a perception of Accra that resembles a manifesto for environmental protection and the safeguarding of tradition. It is a resonant tribute to resilience in all its forms.