"Ghana is fast fashion’s dumping ground, and unwanted apparel is throwing up on the beaches leading to an environmental crisis." …Forbes magazine (Rags, Not Riches: Why Ghana Is Fast Fashion’s Dumping Ground) Okrika Reclaimed is a site-specific art installation that takes place in Kantamanto, Accra, Ghana, one of the world’s largest secondhand clothing markets, which also serves as a massive open-air dump for textile waste, significantly impacting the local environment. Through collaboration with the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Ghana and Revival Earth, a textile upcycling NGO and fabric lab in Kantamanto, Okrika Reclaimed engages the community in workshops and cleanup efforts. The reclaimed textile waste is repurposed into site-specific outdoor installations and performance in the market. For more than a decade, my work has questioned the complex dynamics of the second-hand clothing market, particularly in Africa, where the continent has become a dumping ground for various forms of waste from the West. The influx of used clothing bales, notably in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, has led to environmental challenges, with up to 40% of the clothing deemed unusable and subsequently contributing to clothing mountains that pose significant pollution threats. My work questions these industries, which initially operated under the guise of Western humanitarianism towards the global South. However, the consequences have had a profound impact on the cultural identity, economy and mostly the environment in the recipient countries, necessitating the management of unwanted stock at high costs and often without proper infrastructure. Conducted in the New York area, the initial phase of the project collaborated with immigrant communities, examining their role in labor production for capitalist systems and highlighting the adverse conditions prevailing in the global South, where fast fashion is primarily manufactured. This phase culminated in intercepting bales intended for shipment to Africa and using them to create a large-scale community textile sculpture titled: ‘Ofong Ufok” showcased at the 2023 British Textile Biennial in England.  Okrika Reclaimed in this phase, returns the discourse to the continent most affected by secondhand clothing waste, centering collaboration with local communities and industry stakeholders in Ghana. This socially engaged project raises awareness of the environmental and social impact of clothing dumping through site-specific interventions. Working experimentally within Kantamanto Market, it treats the space as both site and subject—creating, performing, and exhibiting in real time before transitioning to a talk at FCA, Accra on July 10th, 2025.  Okrika reclaimed – Runway performance is scheduled to take place at Kantamanto market on July 11th or 12th ( confirmed date and time will be updated as soon as possible). The project contributes to the global conversation on sustainable fashion by foregrounding voices and practices from the Global South. Okrika Reclaimed, is 2024 Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW) Environmental Art Grant project administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and in part by Foundation for Contemporary Art, NYC.