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Following over 50 issues exploring the international Black diaspora, this marks a final column. The journey proved incredibly gratifying, with sincere gratitude offered to all the dedicated audience.

Exploring the Cultural Week

Experiencing the showcases, artworks and acts of the festival, one sees how superior art sustains and constructs a country’s past and character. The focal point was certainly Serge Attukwei Clottey’s exquisite [Dis]Appearing Rituals: An Open Lab of Now for Tomorrow, which displayed his pioneering afrogallonism in full view: a concept that transforms water vessels into mesmerizing works of art, tapestries of yellow, brass and gold. The display was designed as a testament to the strength of the historic district, a historic quarter of Accra.

Jamestown – largely inhabited by the Ga ethnic group, a seafaring people – is also where numerous freed slaves came back from Brazil and settled in the 19th century. Called the Tabom people, they carried with them Brazilian tongue and traditions.

In every part of Jamestown, visitors encounter a blend of architecture. You'll find a historic building, featuring its distinct Portuguese brickwork and arched doorways. One can also see the iconic lighthouse of Jamestown, built in the 1800s and subsequently featuring its recognizable red-and-white-striped facade.

Traditions of Mourning

Also notable about Jamestown is the pervasive sight of obituary announcements. Wherever you look, whether plastered over walls or on larger signboards, there are service information and terms of loss. In Jamestown, similar to the rest of Ghana, funerals are major community celebrations.

In Clottey’s spectacular show, all of the sights, sounds and religious textures of Jamestown are evoked – especially in the immersive shoreline work. Within it, visitors are calmed by the audio of the sea with beach material at your feet, while beach huts, hanging fishing nets and images of boats celebrate its vibrant, long-standing maritime community. But being present in this gallery, the mind turns to the heaps of cast-off garments that threaten the beauty and serenity of the area.

In Addition to the Centrepiece

There is a great deal more. Housed in an unfinished structure at the local university, creator Sylvester showcased a deeply moving minimalist collection, an emotionally powerful, minimalist exhibition that included three-dimensional works and artworks made in partnership with artisans.

And then there is the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for female Ghanaian artists. It showcased the debut presentation of a recent laureate, whose work references historical documents to create a visual impression of life in Ghana after independence. The event also honored a new winner, whose diverse work is intensely concerned with the craft techniques of women in a specific region.

A Lasting Presence

Although the diaspora has increasingly been drawn back to the region during the colder season, a growing cohort are contemplating travelling for the cultural season to immerse themselves in the area's cultural season. From this festival and regional art fairs, what emerges are art scenes that are not merely emerging or “upcoming” but have established an entire world that is enduring.

In the end, the journey provides a image of Accra that resembles a statement for conservation and the keeping alive of heritage. It is a resonant homage to perseverance in all its expressions.