Stitching and Printing Ghana’s Past: Exploring Historical Narratives through Textile Design

Textile art emerges as a powerful, underutilized medium for preserving and communicating Ghana’s historical narratives. This study demonstrates that embroidery and printing techniques—when combined or used separately—can effectively convey symbolic meaning, cultural resonance, and emotional depth, functioning as visual archives of collective memory. Unlike traditional oral or written records, textile art offers a tactile and visually engaging way to represent pivotal moments in Ghana’s history, from the Akwaaba symbol of hospitality to the transatlantic slave trade at Cape Coast Castle and the struggle for independence. Through a practice-based qualitative approach, three textile artworks were created and evaluated based on symbolic legibility, compositional coherence, and cultural emotional resonance. Findings reveal that embroidery adds intimacy and texture, while printing supports broader narrative structure, collectively enhancing historical storytelling.

PhD, P. O. (2026). Stitching and Printing Ghana’s Past: Exploring Historical Narratives through Textile Design. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 10(7), 2378–2388. https://doi.org/10.47772/ijriss.2026.100700167