Accra: Urban Life
Vol. 1

I spent most of my formative years in the capital city of Ghana and its landscape offers dusty streets, potholes, beautiful restaurants, some skyscrapers and well-manicured neighborhoods. Certainly, this was the image I had of the late 80s and 90s. But Accra has moved on since I have been away. Even though some things have changed, many have remained unchanged of this colorful city. So in my effort to reacquaint myself with Accra, I lugged my camera along familiar and unfamiliar paths. This sent me to Accra central where I photographed street vendors, kayaye [street porters; mainly women], street food sellers and others. From there, I spent time in Nima, a former slum now emerging as a street business district, where the largest concentration of Muslims in Accra live; there I met street beggars, a young mother, a suya peddler [barbequed meat] and others. Later, I met several young men, part of the emerging business class, decked out with their fancy European cars- preparing for an engagement ceremony. I also met Ivorian migrants and others engaged in all manner of economic activity. All of these diverse and interesting people form part of the tapestry of this African city of Accra.

Nana Gyesie
January 2016