Formerly Bassline Jazz Club, +233 (named after the Ghanaian dialling code) is an intelligently designed club that has live bands six days a week. Inside, there are two floors. The band play on a small stage downstairs, but can also be seen from the U-shaped upstairs. There’s ample seating outside too, which looks onto a glass wall behind which the band play. And external speakers mean its almost as loud outside as in. Each section has its own bar with attentive servers. The food – burgers, hotdogs, chicken, chips, kebabs and pork chops – is mostly off the grill. The music varies between highlife, blues, jazz (although rarely hip hop) and anything else good. There’s only an entrance charge (usually GH¢10) when the band merits it. It’s a hugely popular venue, and rightly so. Probably the best place in Accra to see live music at the moment.
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We’ll still keep recommending this bar as it remains one of the best bars in Accra right now, thanks to its relaxed approach to the good things in life: alcohol, fried food and really great music. It’s a tiny space that tumbles out onto the street when things really kick off, late on a Friday or Saturday. Album covers and black-and-white photos of music stars adorn the walls as Ghanaian music blasts out (there are often jaw-dropping highlife music acts live on the terrace; check out the Facebook page and Twitter account for details – the legendary Ebo Taylor has played here). There’s always live music on a Wednesday too.
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The Dzorwulu venue has been open since late 2009 (it was previously in Airport Residential) – Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights are free for suitably attired ladies before 1am. Music varies from evening to evening: there’s rock and ragga on Thursdays, R’n’B and bashment on Fridays and highlife/ hiplife on Sundays. Saturday is ‘Old Skull Nite’. DJs are on rotation.
Step into many of the nightclubs in Ghana's cities and more often than not you'll be confronted with the throbbing beats and visceral energy of hiplife. A blend of hip hop, dancehall and reggae, hiplife has become a favourite of DJs and clubbers alike. But this wasn't always the case. Ghana's musical map was once dominated by highlife - a genre so diverse it managed to not just survive western influence, but incorporate the disparate styles imported to the country over centuries to produce an effervescent sound which reflects the vibrancy of Ghana itself. Although still popular in Ghana, it's also a genre which is being championed by music lovers far from the former Gold Coast, predominantly the boss of UK based record label, Soundway - Miles Cleret.
'Highlife is a real mirror of the 20th century in terms of music. There are a lot of different modern music forms that came out of this era, and highlife is one of them. It's a real mish-mash of everything,' said Miles, who has managed to capture a snapshot of the scene on Soundway's recent release, Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Ghanaian Blues 1968-81.
'The roots of highlife are a collage of music, from traditional African music to colonial marching band music, to hymn singing and church music. And as the century went on it absorbed different influences from around the world. So it's got a bit of jazz, a bit of swing, it's got a bit of blues, it's got a bit of Latin music. Then as things go on in the 1960s...
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The English Premier League is by far the biggest spectator sport in Ghana and it can be found shown in high end restaurants to local eateries – but this is where to go with atmosphere.
While the dim lighting and pumping tunes advertise it as a drinkers’ hangout, Firefly Lounge Bar also has a comprehensive international menu to accompany its premium spirits. A selection of tapas is a tasty and swift re-fuel for barflies, as is the selection of Middle Eastern dips (GH¢18-28), with crisp slices of French bread for ladling fresh hummus, baba ghanoush and labne. Mains include steaks and Spanish classics such as saltimbocca. The fries are the perfect alliance of crisp and fluffy, and the goat’s cheese croquettes are as wonderful as they sound. As a sophisticated nightspot, Firefly is faultless; as a restaurant, it has some real strengths and sophisticated flavours, but the menu could benefit from a couple of tweaks to back up the price tag.
Fresh and bold Mediterranean flavours reign at this friendly Italian eatery. It’s recently been expanded, and diners have a choice between an indoor restaurant area, outdoor patio, or lounging on the banquettes in the bar area. Patrons devour Italian staples packed with triumphant combinations of smoky black olives, rich cheese, tender artichokes, full-bodied passatas and cured meats. Mains include tagliata with parmesan and rucola (GH¢45), but most people opt for the pizzas (GH¢28 on average), which are superb – giant bubbling disks liberally topped. For a loaded treat, the Quattro Stagioni has mushrooms and artichokes aplenty, and the piquant Diavolo is a simple pleasure of salami drizzled with chili oil. Those heroic enough to vanquish a whole pizza can revive with a espresso in stylish white cups.
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One of the most happening bars in Accra right now, thanks to its relaxed, music-forward approach to the good things in life: alcohol, fried food and really great music. It’s a tiny space that tumbles out onto the street when things really kick off late on a Friday or Saturday. Album covers and black-and-white photos of music stars adorn the walls as Ghana’s best music blasts out (often live on the terrace; check out the Facebook page and Twitter account for details – highlife legend Ebo Taylor has even played here). Even the cocktails use great ingredients not found anywhere else: the Republica is a caipirihna made from traditional palm wine. On a sunny day (and yes, it’s always sunny), try one of their ‘Wild Beers’: the Beer Sap has bissap concentrate added to it. Fittingly, the food is good beer fodder too – the cassava chips are a fabulous drinking accompaniment, while the Fire Go Burn You pepper soup and Ye Ye Goat curry, for around GH¢12, are superb value for something this tasty.
The Shisha Lounge is Osu’s newest hotspot, filled well into the night with partygoers attracted by its laidback vibe, outdoor seating, superb DJ roster and some very fine cocktails. It’s a small, but well-designed space with a series of patios, outdoor lounge seating areas, plus an indoor bar and lounge. They turn out great pizzas from the bespoke oven, plus sharing platters. There are, of course, shisha pipes to hire if you’d like to indulge. It’s a classy well-thought out joint that steamed to the top of the Accra VIP list. This is a place that is all about the good times!
Open daily from 6pm to very late.
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Kaya meaning ‘home’ in both Japanese and Zulu and 'pure' in Greek, and wellbeing lies at the heart of this multi-experience. Here, we care about the beautiful outdoor bar. Kaya is at its most alluring at night, when the sparkling terrace is illuminated and transformed into one of Accra’s best party venues. The vibe is soulful sounds and jazz. On Fridays it becomes resident to one of Accra’s most renowned DJs, who draws a younger crowd to the very buzzy cocktail bar. The cocktails are unmissable, with hyperactive mixologists using inventive ingredients to create masterpieces.
Loom’s Frances Ademola has a popular gallery that exhibits paintings and sculptures by a good selection of Ghana’s foremost artists, with a smattering of expressive Nigerian pieces. The modest space has been here since 1969, and is bursting at the seams with the work of nearly 100 artists. If Ademola is around, she’s delightful company, chatting exuberantly about artists such as Seth and Serge Clottey and Gabriel Eklou, and happily offering her great knowledge of the Ghanaian art scene, past and present. Loom is regarded as one of Ghana’s premier galleries.
The hugely respected Ghanaian artist Ablade Glover established this renowned arts venue, which has become one of the most important of its kind in Ghana. There are three expansive floors of art displayed in cool marble galleries. Some are by established artists, such as Owusu Ankomah and George Hughes, whose paintings are reminiscent of Jean Michel Basquiat and Willem De Kooning, while others are by new and upcoming artists like Ebenezer Borlabie. Market, rural and urban scenes are interspersed with political satires – and naturally, there are also the shrouded figures and staccatoed crowd scenes by Glover himself. There are collectors’ pieces too: Asafo flags with appliquéd and embroidered symbols; ancient strip-woven Kente cloths by the Akan and Ewe; African masks of the type that inspired Picasso; and intricately carved furniture. Also on show are full-sized coffins in the shapes of crabs, running shoes and eagles. Everything is for sale. There’s a lovely pool out the back.
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Along the seafront near Black Star Square is the Arts Centre. Hawkers attack from all sides as soon as you arrive, but if you’re not exhausted by the scrum you can find carvings, baskets, drums, bags, beads, fabrics, sandals, sculptures, stools, rugs and occasionally antiques. It’s a place to unearth some incredible finds and gifts. The best bet is to head past the hassle which you’ll inevitably encounter at the entrance and make your way towards the back of the complex, where it’s a bit more relaxed. Haggling is expected. There’s also an art gallery, which sells prints and paintings at reasonable prices.
Gallery 1957 is one of the most exciting new gallery openings in the last decade. The 140sqm space, named after the year Ghana gained independence, is housed in the beautiful new Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City and has a curatorial focus on contemporary Ghanaian art presenting a programme of exhibitions, installations and performances by the country’s most significant artists under the creative direction of Nana Oforiatta Ayim. The gallery has evolved from over 15 years of private collecting by Marwan Zakhem, Managing Director of Zakhem, whose projects in Africa include the Kempinski. He said: "I first started collecting contemporary art when I moved to Africa. The work I encountered in Senegal and Ghana had a real aesthetic power to it while reflecting the society of our time. Many of the artists the gallery is working with are increasingly gaining a presence internationally in museums and biennales, but opportunities to reach new audiences at home are limited due to the lack of existing art infrastructure here. There is an abundance of talented artists from West Africa who is deserving of increased visibility." Find out more at http://www.gallery1957.com/
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Friday 15th November – until Monday 11th December
Exhibition Hall, Alliance Francaise Accra
Eric Adjetey Anang is dedicated to develop the art initiated by his grandfather Seth Kane Kwei in the 50s. Recognized in Ghana as a coffin maker, he is renowned abroad as an artist and a designer. He is regularly invited to present his work at international events, works with Western designers and is involved in educational projects.
There's nothing like a colourful send-off... The tradition of crafting elaborate, vibrant caskets for the dearly departed is a relatively new one - hence the playful, sometimes postmodern aspects to the work of coffin-maker par excellence Paa Joe (whose inflatable Disney-consumerist coffin sculpture, recently on display in the UK, could give Jeff Koons a run for his money on the international art scene). The 'fantasy' coffin making trade emerged in the Teshie suburb of Accra in the '50s, around the time of independence. It was pioneered by Seth Kane Kwei, who took commissions from grieving family members and ran with them. Kwei died in 1992 but bequeathed a new, iconic style to African contemporary art. The Kane Kwei Carpentery Workshop - along with a number of other designer-coffin producers in Ghana - is as busy as ever today, and Time Out was allowed a peek under the lid...
Carving its way out of the ‘West African literature’ hold all category and emerging as a genre in its own right, Ghanaian fiction has received due credit in recent years with young authors taking the reigns from the likes of Kofi Awoonor (This Earth, My Brother, 1971), Ama Ata Aidoo (Our Sister Killjoy, 1977) and Ayi Kwei Armah (The Healers, 1979). Ghana’s new generation of writers includes poets, successful bloggers, authors of young adult fiction, crime fiction and strong contenders on ‘recommended new novelist’ tables in bookstores across the globe.
Probably last year’s most talked about novel of this realm is Ghana Must Go, by Taiye Selasi. It leaves readers with plenty to chew on, with its unusual narrative style and complex characters. The intelligent Ms Selasi has certainly stepped into the literary world with a grand entrance (her fan base includes Toni Morrison and Salman Rushdie). The story revolves around a Boston family of six - the mother Nigerian, the father Ghanaian - whose mixed up lives repel and retract like a rubber band. Accra is referred to more as a backdrop to the storyline, however it is obvious the city and Ghana are familiar territory for Selasi with descriptions such as “lush Ghana, soft Ghana, verdant Ghana, where fragile things die” and “the smell of Ghana, a contradiction, a cracked clay pot: the smell of dryness, wetness, both, the damp of earth and dry of dust.” Selasi enjoys flitting between hot, slower paced Accra and crisp, snow covered...
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Artists take to James Town’s streets for this vibrant alfresco art festival that spans acrylic street painting, stencil work, side walk painting, chalk art and vast graffiti murals. Past events have also featured large art installations and photography displays, as well as live music, DJ sets and theatre and spoken word performances.
The festival takes place along High Street James Town between the Light House down to Ussher Fort.
One of the best events of the year - the artwork on display is amazing, the music is energising and the artistic buzz is unforgettable.
L'arte is located in the heart of 'Bubuashie' community in Accra. This densely populated neighbourhood was chosen to allow clients and tourists the opportunity to 'enjoy the feel of the community'. L'arte provides dining entertainment.
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Since achieving independence in 1957, Ghana's artists have been steadily embracing a freedom of self-expression that is transporting them out of the controlled and literal, and into a playful and exciting meld of semi-abstract and impressionism. Traditional Ghanaian scenes remain popular subject matter, but today's artist can be found confidently experimenting with colour and form, and the market is awash with bold and emotive pieces.No one has had a better view of this post-independence transformation than Loom gallery's Frances Ademola - an ardent champion of Ghanaian artists for over 40 years. When Time Out Accra popped in to browse the stacks of paintings filling Loom's walls and giant folders, we took the opportunity to get Ademola's pick of 21st century Ghana's brightest artistic talents.An artist she first encountered when he was just 12 is Samuel Agbenyegah (also known as Samkobee), whose semi-abstract figures demonstrate a bewitching understanding of colour blending and form. 'He came to me when he was 12 with two wonderful paintings,' explains Ademola. 'I said "who did these?" He said "me". I didn't believe him and told him to go and do another one. He came back with four more.'Bowled over by this young talent, Ademola had one big piece of advice for him. 'I told him "do not go to art school, whatever you do! It will take away your natural flair." He is now 30-something, and such a natural artist.'One of the most established Ghanaian artists found exhibiting both...
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