Nsuo ne Nsa: Libation: Art Exhibition

A free group exhibition and live libation ceremony at Volta Bistro, Cantonments, 22 to 24 December. Before you drink, remember.

Part of the December in GH 2026 Events! Not to be missed!

Before you drink, remember. Pay your respects to your ancestors before saying goodbye to 2026.

December brings families home. Old friends return, stories are retold, and the names of those no longer with us are spoken. Before the first sip, a drink is poured onto the earth. Libation begins in that moment.

Did you know Akpeteshie is the original alcohol poured during libation? It is Ga for 'hide to drink'as it was banned by colonizers who introduced Schnapps.

Opening night and ceremony: On 22 December, the exhibition opens with a live libation ceremony led by a respected elder, presented with cultural context and respect.

Please arrive in time for the ceremony (8pm) and keep quiet during the pour.

The exhibition continues until 24 December, with the artworks on show during the day on 23 and 24 December.

Presented by Nsuo ne Nsa, this interactive group exhibition brings together ten emerging artists working in painting, sculpture, photography, video, sound, installation and performance. They respond to the Akan and wider African tradition of pouring water or a drink in acknowledgement of the ancestors.

It draws inspiration from Osuanyi Quaicoo Essel's 2014 paper, Libation Art in Art of Ghana: Linking the Unlinked, and from The Eyes Of Ghana documentary- The film's central idea is that a culture's memory is at risk if nobody protects it, records it and brings it home.

Come and learn and pay your respects

A journey through five spaces

• The Greeting: We have arrived. Homecoming, return and belonging, payig respect to the Divine and mother earth
• The Names: Remember and acknowledge those who came before
• The Prayer: Visitors write their hopes and blessings for 2027 and take them home
• The Pour: Each visitor will be given their own calabash to pour as they pray
• Education: Learn the history and controversy about libation

Opening night: the Libation On 22 December, the evening opens with a live libation ceremony led by a respected elder, presented with cultural context and respect. At 8pm the room goes quiet, the lights dim and the elder pours. A contemporary soundscape and a playlist of old African songs carry the night, alongside poetry. The exhibition opens until 24 December.

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