V&A's exhibition examines the colonial origins of "Tropical Modernism" in British West Africa, and the survival of the style in the post-colonial period when it symbolized the independence and progressiveness of newly independent countries like Ghana and India. Exhibition curators sought to contextualize the history of Tropical Modernism by also looking at the architecture against the regional anti-colonial struggle of the time. This film clip traces the style's colonialist beginnings to its adoption by Kwame Nkrumah, the first Prime Minister of newly-independent Ghana, to become a symbol of freedom, modernity and progressiveness. The full 30-minute film is on view at "Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence" at the V&A in London through September 2024.
