The 13th edition of the Chale Wote Street Art Festival will be held at the Black Star Square in Osu. Africa’s most vibrant street art festival opens from Monday 21st to Sunday 27th of August. This 2023 cycle of the Chale Wote Street Art Festival is a celebration of over a decade of offering some of the most iconic public art interventions by African artists and cocreations with collaborators from across the world. Black Star Square, the adjoining streets, and the Osu community will witness a new wave of artists creating some of the most innovative contemporary works of art in Africa.
All programming throughout the festival week will be held within the Osu municipality. Chale Wote Street Art Festival will have no activities in James Town.
The new festival perimeter will feature open-air mural exhibitions by leading Ghanaian and international artists, showcasing work inspired by the rebellion of enslaved Afro-Brazilians in 1835 Salvador Bahia and their glorious return to present-day Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria. The story is also performed as a musical theater piece called MEMORY MOVEMENT FREEDOM by multiple community-based performances, dance troupes, and brass bands.
For their participation this year, Ghanaian art collective AFUABE will create live murals detailing the former Gold Coast’s long history of resistance against colonial invasions.
Other showcases will include performance art, graffiti, 4 music stages with 120 musicians and bands, LABS, Salons, design, photography, processions, street theater, and the SHIKA SHIKA Art Fair that will host independent artists at the Christianborg castle. The art fair supports and showcases dynamic presentations and works from intergenerational artists outside of gallery spaces. The castle gardens will also host the Chale Wote Film LABS and knowledge-sharing salons from 22nd August to 24th August. The salons will offer hands-on digital art and photography training sessions for visiting creators and the general public. Screening at the Film LABS are 17 films from Ghana, the Caribbean. Europe and Africa. Visitors can also book walking tours to visit historical sites and buildings with fascinating stories within the Osu community.
The world-famous HIGHLIFE CAFÉ opens at the Black Star Square for the first time alongside the Accra Cookout serving the city’s favourite dishes and obscure delicacies. Join us at the Black Star Square and Christianborg Castle for the most iconic celebration of art in Africa, hosting the industry’s biggest acts for an unforgettable multi-disciplinary art experience. Since its inception in 2011, CHALE WOTE has developed an unrivaled reputation for consistently featuring hundreds of performances, and exhibitions across stages, throughout the festival grounds. African audiences are now connected to new perspectives of authentic creators developing spaces dedicated to independent art production through the festival year after year.
Advertisers interested in brand placement and exhibitor pavilions should contact the festival operations unit at +233261469710. Announcements will be made in the coming days with full programming details for #ChaleWote2023.
CHALE WOTE STREET ART FESTIVAL is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Ghana Tourism Authority, Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey Dr. Zenator Agyeman Rawlings, Accra [Dot] Alt, CITI FM/TV. Institute Francais, Korley Klottey Municipal Assembly, Ghana Museums & Monuments Board +Lododo Art.com
Story by Obaapa Janee/ahotoronline
