Features | New World Nomads

THE SHORES OF A PARADIGM SHIFT

"I feel enlightened being surrounded by people who are open to new ways of life, experiences and identities - people who understand that culture is deep-rooted in who we are and

shapes the way we view the world."

- ZAINA ADAMU

There are those who say the world we see is connected by a deeper web,

threaded together by primordial patterns, woven through each of our bodies,

and even by the land itself.

Mystics and scientists alike have spent lifetimes exploring this,

eager to find evidence in electromagnetic frequencies, hunting for

underlying logic in the legacy of ley lines.

But artists need no proof.

Our experience of this phenomenon is more than enough for us to know -

It's true.

This is how we felt, walking the shores of Accra, inhaling one last sunset of the legendary holiday season. From all across Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Samoa, Slovakia, Somalia, Croatia, America, Australia, the collective lineage of our ancestry pulsed through us. Some were lifelong friends, others were new to each other, but none of us were strangers ~

And all of us knew this instantly.

"I believe in diversity. Culture is the mother of diversity but it all goes back to nature... Both physically and spiritually. I easily get attracted to people of the same energy (People who believe in nature first)."

- MATTHEW OSEI

We weren't entirely sure how we got there... Someone had met someone else, an idea was sparked, and somehow we found ourselves together.

Art happens often like this.

Musicians, models, designers, filmmakers, teachers, spanning all walks of life, we climbed down a rocky pathway to the beach, wrapped in silk, cotton and linen, draped in hand crafted jewelry of ceramic, crystal and gold.

As the tide started rising, a salty sweet breeze swept over us. Water crept up our calves. The sky line and rolling waves and rippling shore layered together in a vibrant tapestry, as our black, brown and beige skin gleamed.

We didn't know why we were there.

We only knew it was special.

"What inspires me about the Ewe (my culture) is the LANGUAGE ;

the power behind it, the dynamics, and the beauty of how all the words come together as music."

- ENAM

"One of my favorite things about being a person of color, being African American, is we’re very resilient. Our hair defies gravity … I love the warmness of my skin and how my skin soaks up the sun… I love the strength and endurance that I have… and I love that across culture, when it comes to diaspora, people of color, we’ve been through a lot and we are still persevering."

- STACI SHERRI

“Some of the things I love about cross cultural collaborations are the paradigm shifts that can come out of them. .. Really seeing the world in a new way…. The more you collaborate with people from different cultures, the more you learn about yourself. It’s like a prism for seeing a different side of yourself."

- JORDAN FILKO

This is the power of Ghana.

For all the bloodshed and injustice the country endures, it owes no foreigner any warm welcome - but Ghana extends this endlessly.

A friend told me: "Every December the world descends upon Accra."

He was smiling ear to ear as he said it. Because he understands the magnetic power of this place and chooses to receive this curiosity as a gift that he is wiling to give back to the travelers who come, seeking some of this magic.

Many pass through the parties, but it's those who take time to create sincere connections that experience the fullness of the synchronicity, the divine alignments, the inexplicable moments and memories.

This is the real magic.

Being a Pacific Islander is hard to describe because so few people know our culture. My ancestry was revived in me when I came to Ghana in a way I can't explain. Though we are different, there is so much we share. The richness of Ghanaian culture taught me to reconnect with my own.

- TIHANE