When Highlife ruled the airwaves
Records revisits Ghana’s golden era of rhythm and reinvention with Ghana Special: Highlife, a new single-LP edition that distills the electric fusion of highlife, soul, and psychedelia that defined the country’s sound for almost a decade from 1967 to 1976.
Turning Waste Into Memory
In the work of Serge Attukwei Clottey, Ghana’s artistic landscape finds one of its most vital and globally resonant voices. His yellow plastic tapestries, stitched from discarded gallon containers, speak not only to environmental urgency but also to the deep cultural and material entanglements that shape modern Ghana.
Project Wollo
Through her project Wollo and the digital community, Ghanaian copywriter and illustrator Aku Addy is transforming social listening into civic storytelling, one conversation, one illustration and one neighbourhood at a time.
Reframing Ghana: Contemporary artistic voices
As Gallery 1957 continues to define Ghana’s place on the global contemporary art stage, its latest exhibition brings together strikingly distinct voices: painter Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe and multidisciplinary artist Denyse Gawu-Mensah. Exhibited alongside Serge Attukwei Clottey (see page 52), their work deepens the conversation around identity, heritage and the evolving power of Ghanaian creativity.
Asante Goldweights
Once overlooked by collectors, Asante goldweights are now recognised as some of West Africa’s most distinctive artistic creations – miniature brass masterpieces that tell the story of power, trade and ingenuity. All images from African Goldweights.
Castle at the edge of the sea
Christiansborg Castle in Osu was once closed to all but governors and heads of state. Today, it’s a public museum, a place where Ghana’s complex past, from the slave trade to independence, unfolds within its weathered white walls.
Highlife Rewired: Ghana’s 1980s dancefloor revolution
Soundway’s new compilation, Ghana Special Vol. 2, captures the electric moment when drum machines, diaspora, and postcolonial optimism collided, and remade Ghanaian music forever. Daniel Neilson speaks to co-curator Jeremy Spellacey.
Dela Anyah: Identity and rebirth
Dela Anyah's fascination with discarded objects ‘is deeply rooted in concepts of renewal, self-discovery, identity, rebirth, and transformative change’. Each piece becomes a ‘narrative, weaving together the stories of forgotten materials into a tapestry of significance’.
Accra’s art scene skyrockets
The pandemic seems to have accelerated the city’s creativity, producing its most exciting explosion of artistic activities yet.
Drink in Palm wine music
Palm wine music has held firm against its racier rivals, discovers Sarah Jones
Woven in Wa
Why Woven in Wa seeks to celebrate tradition while embracing change. Sarah Jones speaks to its founder Odile Tevie and artist Frederick Bamfo
VISIT:The National Museum of Ghana
A national museum or city museum plays an essential role in a person’s identity. Here’s a look at the newly opened museum
Ussher Fort: A journey through Ghana’s past
Discover the history and cultural significance of Ussher Fort in Accra
Caleb Azumah Nelson
Ghanaian author Caleb Azumah Nelson garnered global attention with his startling debut novel, now his second novel explores the life, tastes and music of Ghana.
Best Ghanaian records
We're going to leave you with some of our favourite Ghanaian discs. Whether you're exploring Accra, planning a visit or pining for the homeland, turn these up loud and enjoy Ghana's best export: its music
Venerable bead
Beads in Ghana are painstakingly made and beautifully coloured, but also mark the cycle of life
Velma’s Millinery & Accessories
Fashion, like a cyclone, is something that constantly picks up speed and changes its course. It can be all-encompassing and unpredictable. But for Velma Owusu-Bempah, focusing on the traditional aspect of women’s apparel that is millinery, she has proved that by sticking to a specific accessory, you can harness the wild world of the fashion industry
LISTEN: Worlasi
Worlasi is one of Ghana’s most inventive and interesting current musicians. We asked him about his influences and the future of the country’s music