Ewe culture in display at 2024 Chale Wote Street Art Festival

The third day of this year’s Chale Wote Street Art Festival was packed with exciting activities, including a beautiful display of Ewe culture.

In the afternoon of Wednesday, August 21, 2024, the Denyigba Borborbor Group captivated the audience with am enthralling Borborbor performance.

Their performance was more than just entertainment; it was a powerful expression of the political, spiritual, and sensual dimensions deeply rooted in their culture. Borborbor is a celebration of life, community, and the strength of the bond of the people along the Gulf of Guinea.

Also on the third day, there was an insightful knowledge-sharing session led by Asafoatse Atanarh of Osu Ashantey, who discussed ancient warfare strategies and weapons with intelligence.

Throughout the day, the Castle Gardens full of energy as visitors of all age groups came to experience the ongoing Shika Shika Art Fair.

Illashaz also led a session on the evolution of hip-hop in Ghana and its journey over the years. He later took the stage to perform a few of his powerful conscious rap songs. The evening concluded with two thought-provoking film screenings, followed by a spirited conversation on reverse aid-giving, saviorism, and the challenges of caring for loved ones with terminal illnesses.

On Day 2 (Tuesday, August 21, 2024), patrons of the 2024 Chale Wote Street Art Festival joined the people of Osu in Accra to celebrate their history of triumphs over strife and ancestral migration. They participated in ceremonies of renewal in the Homowo Festival, celebrated by the Gas.

There was also the Yeeyeyee Yam Festival for twins at the Osu township and the ‘Giants Don’t Hide’ anymore; Afuabe Gh.

At the Christianborg Castle were the Shika Shika Art Fair, Essential, Sessi & Nora, Film Salon ; Johannes Krug.

Daily entry fee for exhibitions and film shows at the castle is GHS 50 for locals, GHS 100 for non-Ghanaians, and GHS 30 for all children from 13 years to 17years.

The 14th edition of the Chale Wote Street Art Festival opened in Accra on Monday, August 19, 2024.

The event opened with a silent procession through the Osu township, with participants clad in all-white attires.

There were a declaration by team in the Christiansborg castle and the opening of Shika Shika Art Fair in the Garden.

Other activities during the first day of the Chale Wote Street Art Festival were royal music performance by Osu Klottey School of African Music, Dagara Music Centre performance, Nyonmo Y3 Jen Cultural Group dance performance, film screening and conversations.

The 2024 edition of the festival is slated for August 19-25 at the Blackstar Square.

Themed ‘And Now An End To The Empire Of Horrors,’ it draws inspiration from some of Africa’s deepest history that lies in the Gulf of Guinea. Chale Wote seeks to artistically focus on the tales of the fantastic and mortal gods from the Gulf of Guinea, which can be understood as allegories that illustrate the social conditions created by genocidal squatter colonialism.

Chale Wote 2024 explores the history of the place through its origins and an examination of it in relation to its death and the current rebirth of its sacred sciences, long forgotten and buried with the giants. The event will curate a multiplicity of counterhegemonic narratives about this rebirth in their most spectacular form through art and entertainment.

As strong advocates of art education, the organisers are also interested in works that can be tailored to include salons and knowledge-sharing labs with children and/or youth during the festival period.

The one-week-long festival will be held from Monday, August 19, to Sunday, August 25, 2024. Therefore, selected artists will be expected to release the works from August 10 to 18, 2024, and have them ready for display from the beginning to the climax of the festival.

For the second time, The Multimedia Group is the official media partner for the festival. Through its experienced reporters, the media company will give viewers, listeners and readers of its platforms, comprehensive coverage of everything that happens throughout the period.

The festival will be transmitted on Hitz FM, Joy Prime, and have reports published on myjoyonline.com. There will be special features on all the other media outlets of The Multimedia Group.

Lat year, the event started from the Independence Square all the way into the Osu township, where the High Court complex is, down into Independence Square, into the Osu Castle, into the Osu community, all the way down to Oxford Street, and all up to the Osu cemetery traffic light coming towards Accra Sports Stadium, rounding it back into Independence Square.

The story was also performed as a musical theatre piece called ‘Memory Movement Freedom’ by multiple community-based performance, dance troupes and brass band.

Some major activities for last year’s edition of the festival were photo exhibitions, street painting, graffiti murals, interactive installations, street boxing, movie screening, processions, design labs, movie screenings, and more.

The 14th edition of the Chalewote Street Art Festival promises to be an amplified version of last year’s.

It is organised by Accra [dot] ALT, in collaboration with Redd Kat Pictures and Chale Wote Street Art Projekt.