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

After in excess of fifty editions exploring the international Black diaspora, this signifies a last piece. The journey proved deeply rewarding, with sincere thanks extended to all the attentive audience.

A Look Inside the Cultural Week

Visiting the displays, artworks and performances of Accra Cultural Week, it becomes clear how the finest art sustains and constructs a country’s history and identity. The centrepiece was undoubtedly Clottey's stunning [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which put his innovative afrogallonism for all to see: a approach that transforms yellow jerrycans into captivating creations, assemblages of golden hues. The display was created as a testament to the endurance of this area, a historic neighbourhood of Accra.

The community – mainly inhabited by the Ga people, a seafaring people – is also where numerous formerly enslaved people arrived from Brazil and established themselves in the 19th century. Referred to as the Tabom community, they brought Portuguese tongue and traditions.

In every part of Jamestown, visitors encounter a blend of architectural styles. There’s Franklin House, featuring its unique colonial-era brickwork and arched doorways. One can also see the famous Jamestown Lighthouse, built in the 1871 and subsequently featuring its distinctive striped facade.

Traditions of Mourning

Equally striking about Jamestown is the ever-present presence of funeral posters. Wherever you look, be it covering alleyways or on big hoardings, there are funeral details and phrases of mourning. In Jamestown, mirroring customs in Ghana, funerals are significant community celebrations.

In the artist's breathtaking exhibition, the entirety of the sights, sounds and religious textures of Jamestown are present – notably in the enveloping beach-themed work. In this space, visitors are calmed by the sound of the sea with beach material at your feet, while shacks, hanging fishing nets and representations of boats honour its spirited, generational fishing community. Yet standing in this venue, it's hard to ignore the piles of cast-off garments that compromise the beauty and tranquillity of the area.

Apart from the Main Event

There is much more. Inside an incomplete building at the campus, creator Reginald Sylvester II showcased On the Other Side of Languish, an profoundly affecting, austere exhibition that featured sculptures and artworks made in concert with artisans.

And then there is the competition for female artists for female Ghanaian artists. It included the first solo show of a recent laureate, whose work utilizes historical documents to craft a depiction of life in post-independence Ghana. The event also crowned a new champion, whose multidisciplinary work is intensely focused on the craft techniques of women in a specific region.

A Permanent Legacy

While the global African community has more and more been drawn home to west Africa in the western winter, an increasing number are considering visiting earlier in the year to immerse themselves in the area's cultural season. From this festival and regional art fairs, what is evident are art scenes that are not merely emerging or “upcoming” but have established an entire universe that is permanent.

Finally, the journey leaves one with a perception of Accra that serves as a declaration for ecological stewardship and the safeguarding of tradition. It is a compelling homage to resilience in all its forms.