The eighth annual street art festival dubbed Chale Wote will take place from August 20 – 26 in Accra, Ghana.
Held in one of Ghana’s historical neighborhoods called James Town, the event aims to fuse art, music, design, dance, and performance arts.
Local artists and international ones alike are given the opportunity to showcase their masterpieces while learning the tricks of their trade and from other artists.
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This year’s abstract which has been named para-other “is a rejection of citizenship that has no place for the advancement of radical imagination, new perspectives of the self and human agency. Para-Other is a transatlantic shortwave that transcends language and geography but is also represented in relationship to unique locals. It is a philosophy born out of historically determined necessity to flourish beyond a world of alienation and crisis we currently experience as reality.”
.@crazinistartist will be challenging the audience to reexamine the current state of both civic and military brutality, violence and hate in and outside Ghana using the black body as entry point in “agbaWnu“#CHALEWOTE2018 pic.twitter.com/RMpnqQkMCH
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 1, 2018
Without A Command, by the #PercyNiiNortey, combines fabric, machine spare parts and sound to create a unique Frankenstein-like mechanical experience, documenting the journeys various second hand machines imported to Ghana embark on.#PARAOTHER pic.twitter.com/dwUZgeQajB
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 1, 2018
.@LAYAXO3 is a British Ghanaian artist + facilitator who believes in the healing power of expression and the creative process. Her work explores identity, personal histories + experiences of Black Women and aims to create the space for play, empowerment + healing.#CHALEWOTE2018 pic.twitter.com/6IuQfO4sM8
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 1, 2018
Benjamin Perrot and #ElWarcha think around the use of public space and recreation of spaces for alternative forms of collaboration, interaction and creative production.#ChaleWote2018 #PARAOTHER pic.twitter.com/GFS6EZjf7i
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 1, 2018
23 artists from different disciplines, from research to performance, costume design, music, sound, film, photography, design and installation comprise the Ubulungiswa/Justice Collective. They will be presenting video art and photography at #CHALEWOTE2018 pic.twitter.com/XRAmCATzrp
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 1, 2018
In a reaction to the past and present condition of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, Stacey Okparavero and Malcolm Emilio are aiming to activate four of the five sense for an immerse performance installation titled Alternative Truths#CHALEWOTE2018 #PARAOTHER pic.twitter.com/aaKSQWaz8D
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 2, 2018
Būjin (Danielle Kyengo O’Neill) is a South African born DJ, visual film artist and facilitator whose practice focuses on intimate conversation on representation and identity through lens based documentation.
?: @stefaniejason #CHALEWOTE2018 #PARAOTHER pic.twitter.com/YyNCUoHuRk
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 2, 2018
.@Benumah is a Ghanaian interdisciplinary artist whose practice relies on memory + practice to challenge the mainstream representation around issues of blackness and race. Her ongoing project, See What I See employs artistic language tools to present commentary.#CHALEWOTE2018 pic.twitter.com/YP6OCR8qkP
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 2, 2018
Argentine self-taught artist, Barbara Siebenlist will be back to tag the walls of Jamestown with her unique impressions of its distinct culture. Her craft evolves from her desire to travel the world + document her experience through the art she leaves
? @kuu_ire#CHALEWOTE2018 pic.twitter.com/nSTCvQulZ6— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 2, 2018
.@2AMArt 2AM. Many say that is the time our ancestors speak to us. For 2AM it is the time that she finds silence in a chaotic world surrounding her. Within that silence, she goes within, connecting to her higher self, becoming a vessel to the hidden messages of yesterday. pic.twitter.com/d11Mq93Pz5
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 2, 2018
. @martintoloku association with nature and termites plays like an ongoing fantasy. This year he will grant us exclusive access to an intimate part of the process of carving by the termites.#CHALEWOTE2018 #PARAOTHER pic.twitter.com/zPfbU5Z5mR
— #ChaleWote2018 (@chalewotefest) August 2, 2018
Precisely what the very essence of Pan-Africanism is – uniting all Africans regardless of geographical location.
Another entity who is already in Ghana and exhibiting his talents is Chidi Kwubiri.
The Nigerian artist’s current work called motionEmotion is being featured on exhibit at Gallery 1957, also located in Accra.
Kwubiri captures the spirit of individuals by using a unique technique of randomly splashing paint on the person. The process looks chaotic however, the end result is nothing short of spectacular beauty.
One cool tidbit about the painter is he listens to musical genres such as Afrobeat, highlife, hiplife, reggaeton, soul, R&B, hip-hop and jazz. He even twerks while creating his masterpieces. Kwubiri describes his work as “the dance of [his] soul on canvas.”
