The second edition of the Accra Art Week, which was launched in 2018, opens this year with a special preview on December 19 at the Ghana Club.

The Ghana Club embodies history, heritage and tradition at a time when the nation reflects on the past 400-year trajectory.

Between December 20 and 27, Accra Art Week (AAW) invites art enthusiasts, visitors and purveyors of Africa’s cultural creative industry to join in the purposefully curated programme that includes guided walking art tours through the streets of James Town, specialist studio visits and an art talks programme in partnership with the MasterKraft Experience pop up concept store at the Kempinski Galleria.

Founder, Edwin Otta, believes central to Accra’s burgeoning art scene is the creation of platforms and experiences that offer better access and visibility to Ghana’s stable of artists old and new.

"The vision is to establish an institutional framework that better represent African artists on home soil," he said. 

"While many established Ghanaian artists feature on the global stage, most recently seen during the Ghana Pavilion during the 2019 Venice Biennale, it is also important to showcase art in indigenous contexts. Art and design are part of our day-to-day lives in Africa," he said.

Accra Art Week is therefore about highlighting the significance and symbolism of art in the African context. Not only is experiencing and collecting art fun and engaging, but it also serves to preserve our history, heritage, culture; it embodies the narrative of contemporary life experience, it gives hope and connects worlds.

Accra Art Week aims to create formal and informal platforms, bringing together creatives at the coalface of Ghana and West Africans zeitgeist.

The AAW programme is also about partnerships that highlight Ghana’s art sector value chain, exposing our audiences to studio visit in partnership with Gallery 1957 featuring renowned Ghanaian artist Gideon Appiah among others.

A canvas talk programme offers AAW ticket holders an opportunity to interact with artists, collectors and visitors to the city exploring important topics such as  ‘The Business of the Arts & Design in  Africa - examining value of art and design in Africa’.

The Accra Art Week 2019 unveils a special initiative which tells the story of the ‘Akwaaba Lady’ – a portrait that has graced the offices, homes and tourism hot spots of Ghana for over 20 years.