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Following more than 50 issues delving into the worldwide Black diaspora, this marks a concluding piece. The tenure has been deeply fulfilling, and sincere gratitude offered to every one of the attentive readers.

Exploring the Accra Festival

Attending the displays, presentations and acts of this event, one sees how the finest art sustains and builds a nation's heritage and identity. The highlight was without doubt Clottey's exquisite a profound exploration of ritual and time, which displayed his pioneering afrogallonism for all to see: a concept that reimagines yellow jerrycans into captivating works of art, tapestries of metallic tones. The show was conceived as a homage to the endurance of this area, a historic area of Accra.

The community – largely populated by the Ga ethnic group, a community of fishermen – is furthermore where many freed slaves arrived from South America and made their home in the 1830s. Referred to as the Tabom, they introduced Brazilian language and culture.

Throughout Jamestown, visitors encounter a blend of building designs. Standing is a historic building, with its characteristic European-style brickwork and arched doorways. Another landmark is the iconic lighthouse of Jamestown, erected in the 1800s and eventually sporting its distinctive red-and-white-striped facade.

A Culture of Mourning

Furthermore notable about Jamestown is the pervasive presence of obituary announcements. On every corner, whether affixed to alleyways or on sizable hoardings, there are service information and expressions of loss. In Jamestown, as throughout Ghana, final rites are large-scale communal events.

In this breathtaking show, all of the sensory and spiritual landscape of Jamestown are captured – particularly in the immersive Jamestown nshonaa work. Here, one is relaxed by the recording of the sea with granules at your feet, while shacks, draped nets and representations of vessels honour its spirited, generational seafaring tradition. However standing in this exhibition space, it's hard to ignore the heaps of cast-off garments that threaten the beauty and serenity of the area.

In Addition to the Headline Act

There is a great deal more. Within an unfinished structure at the University of Ghana, creator Reginald Sylvester II exhibited On the Other Side of Languish, an emotionally powerful, minimalist presentation that displayed three-dimensional works and artworks produced in collaboration with artisans.

Another key element is the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize for Ghanaian women creators. It featured the first solo show of a prior recipient, whose work draws on personal family archives to create a artistic representation of life in the nation's recent history. The event also crowned a current champion, whose diverse work is particularly invested in the textile traditions of women in a specific region.

An Enduring Legacy

While the diaspora has increasingly been drawn home to Ghana in the colder season, an increasing number are considering travelling for the cultural season to experience the area's artistic calendar. From Accra Cultural Week and regional art fairs, what you’ll find are art scenes that are not simply emerging or “rising” but have built up an whole world that is here to stay.

In the end, the visit offers a vision of Accra that resembles a statement for environmental protection and the preservation of tradition. It is a resonant homage to resilience in all its expressions.