The Chale Wote festival has become an international phenomenon that targets exchanges between Ghana-based and international artists to create and appreciate art together. The festival was initiated in 2010 as a street art exhibition and food fair in Mantse Agbonaa, Jamestown. Chale Wote has since become a top spectacle that draws many indigenes as well as tourists into the country. During the festival, the James Fort and the Ussher Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site, serve as a makeshift gallery for curated exhibitions. The open streets of Jamestown usually would be adorned with the most dramatic artistic and sartorial expressions. Mantse Aryeequaye is one of the organisers of Chale Wote. He described the Chale Wote festival as an effort to find an alternative way of interacting with art, while re-imagining how Ghana’s former colonial spaces can be utilized.

In 2015, organizers of the Chale Wote introduced themes for the celebration of the festival. Year after year, new themes emerge that guide the celebrations. The theme for 2015: “African Electronics”, was imagined and inspired by the “indigenous esoteric knowledge that Ghanaians use to create the impossible”. African Electronics was a way to look at the transformative natural power that allows Ghanaians to learn, grow and develop. The themes “Spirit Robot” in 2016 and “Wata Mata” in 2017 sought to symbolise the way in which Africans from all over the world share knowledge. The theme of 2018, “Para Other”, also addressed issues of identity, citizenship and belonging. The 2022 celebration of Chale Wote festival was themed ‘Stargate of Africa’ which aimed at exploring oral tradition and literature as an artform.

Chale Wote Festival 2022 harnessed the power of storytelling and art to reinterpret African folklore into other worldly experiences. The 2022 edition was a return to the in-person format after the festival went on break in 2020 and showed virtually in 2021. It was a weeklong festival that showcased evocative still and motion art installations. The audience also enjoyed performances by dancers, drummers, cyclists, skaters, and a flash mob of stylish patrons.

In the neighborhood of Jamestown, the celebration included a main stage with rotating events such as the colourful performances in muskets, brass bands, hiplife and Afropop music. A resonant wooden installation decked out with vivid murals formed the passageway to the event with vending stalls lining the principal street.

Chale Wote presents a rich display of culture from all corners of the African continent. The festival is increasingly gaining a global attraction as thousands of people come into the country to join in the celebrations.

Reference

Information from https://visitghana.com/events/chale-wote-festival/,  https://newsghana.com.gh/2022-chale-wote-street-art-festival-launched/, https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/chale-wote-street-style-2022, https://theculturetrip.com/africa/ghana/articles/sights-and-sounds-of-chale-wote-festival-accra/  was used in this story