The CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival is an alternative platform that brings art, music, dance and performance out of the galleries and onto the streets of James Town, Accra.
The first festival took place in July 2011, following a series of discussions about creating community projects.
The partners for the festival include Dr. Monk, Afro Gallonism, the Foundation for Contemporary Art Ghana (FCA), the Millennium Cities Initiative – AMA Project Management Unit, and No Limit Charity Foundation.
Their vision is to cultivate a wider audience for the arts in West Africa by breaking creative boundaries and using art as a viable form to rejuvenate public spaces.
The CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival challenges both artists and community-based audiences to connect through art.
The festival includes street painting, graffiti murals, photo exhibitions, interactive installations, a food and fashion marketplace, live street performances, extreme sports, African film shows, street boxing, a fashion parade, a music block party, recyclable design workshops and much more.
More than 200 Ghana-based and international artists take part in the event.
The festival is held on a ten-minute walking route along High Street between the Ga Mashie Development Agency (GAMADA, three buildings up from the Lighthouse) and the old Kings Way building (next to Ussher Fort).
In 2014, more than 10,000 people attended CHALE WOTE.
SEE PHOTOS BELOW.
The annual Chale Wote Street Art Festival took place in Accra’s historic James Town district – with the Nugbor Ye Djen Acrobatic Group proving a big hit with the younger generation.More than 200 artists and performers took part. This performance piece, called African Resurrect, provided some high-concept food for thought.Creativity of any kind is what counts for those wanting to take part. Here, artists from South Africa and Ghana teamed up to paint a mural on this run-down hotel.It is also a chance for residents to enjoy themselves. Here, girls take a break from the art to play Ampe, a traditional Ghanaian children’s game.James Town is also the heart of Ghana’s boxing heritage, with many taking up the sport from a young age.One of the main themes of this year’s festival was “Africa Electronics” embraced by Steloo, one of Ghana’s biggest DJs pictured here before playing his set.It also inspired people to create their own futuristic masks.Some of the artists painted for onlookers. The colonial-era James Town lighthouse provided a popular subject.The festival, which is in its fifth year, extends to the city centre, where children perform a ritual as part of the Homowo harvest festival.The Ga community, the traditional residents of Accra, take part in the event, with a chief sprinkling food as part of a prayer ceremony to encourage a bountiful harvest.And for the revellers, the open-air musical performances went on into the night.
