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Following more than 50 issues exploring the worldwide Black diaspora, this signifies a last column. The journey proved profoundly fulfilling, with immense gratitude directed to all the dedicated audience.

Exploring Accra Cultural Week

Attending the exhibitions, installations and shows of the festival, it becomes clear how superior art sustains and constructs a nation's past and identity. The highlight was without doubt the artist's stunning a profound exploration of ritual and time, which put his groundbreaking afrogallonism in full view: a approach that transforms water vessels into captivating art pieces, mosaics of golden hues. The display was conceived as a tribute to the resilience of Jamestown, a venerable neighbourhood of Accra.

The community – largely home to the Ga people, a community of fishermen – is furthermore where many formerly enslaved people returned from Brazil and settled in the 19th century. Known as the Tabom people, they brought Brazilian tongue and customs.

In every part of Jamestown, you can see a blend of architecture. You'll find Franklin House, with its characteristic Portuguese construction and door arches. Another landmark is the iconic lighthouse of Jamestown, erected in the 1871 and eventually featuring its signature red-and-white-striped exterior.

Traditions of Remembrance

Furthermore striking about Jamestown is the pervasive sight of memorial notices. Wherever you look, whether plastered over walls or on sizable signboards, there are service information and expressions of farewell. In Jamestown, similar to the rest of Ghana, funerals are large-scale community celebrations.

In this impressive exhibition, all of the sights, sounds and religious textures of Jamestown are present – especially in the enveloping beach-themed piece. Here, visitors are calmed by the recording of the sea with sand at your feet, while shacks, draped nets and depictions of canoes honour its dynamic, generational fishing community. But standing in this exhibition space, the mind turns to the mountains of discarded clothing that threaten the aesthetics and peace of the shoreline.

Beyond the Centrepiece

The festival program included much more. Housed in an unfinished structure at the campus, artist Sylvester presented On the Other Side of Languish, an incredibly moving, minimalist presentation that displayed sculptures and paintings produced in partnership with welders.

Another key element is the prestigious art award for female Ghanaian artists. It featured the debut presentation of a recent recipient, whose work draws on familial archival records to craft a depiction of life in post-independence Ghana. The event also announced a latest champion, whose multidisciplinary work is particularly focused on the craft techniques of women in the Volta region.

An Enduring Impact

Although the overseas community has increasingly been drawn back to west Africa in the colder season, a growing cohort are thinking about travelling earlier in the year to engage with the area's festival period. Between this festival and regional art fairs, what is evident are cultural ecosystems that are not merely new or “upcoming” but have forged an entire universe that is here to stay.

In the end, the journey provides a image of Accra that serves as a manifesto for conservation and the keeping alive of tradition. It is a powerful tribute to perseverance in all its expressions.