The 8th Chale Wote street art festival took place in James Town, Accra in Ghana from 20 – 26 August 2018. Here C& author Ruth Simbao shares some visual impressions with us.
Tei Huagie installation on the outside of Ussher Fort. Photo: Ruth Simbao
The Chale Wote festival opened on the Day of Re-Membering (20 August), when the Nai Priest poured libations at Brazil House in order to invoke the ancestral spirits.
Core events took place on the streets and at various public spaces in James Town from 25 – 26 August. A number of artists including Kiffouly Youchaou, Kresiah Mukwazhi, Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi (crazinisT artisT), Charlotte Brathwaite, Percy Nii Nortey and the Ubulungiswa/Justice collective created works inside Ussher Fort and James Fort, which were built as slave forts by the Dutch and the British.
The Chale Wote theme, Para-other, is described in Pidgin to celebrate the importance and validity of this language: “Para-Other be new way to think den open space wey wana humanity evolve pass ein current state.” Photo: Ruth Simbao
Ubulungiswa/Justice, made up of twenty-two artists, engages with the #RhodesMustFall and #OpenStellenbosch movements in South Africa as well as issues of xenophobia. Photo: Ruth Simbao
A video and photography installation in a prison cell at James Fort by the collective Ubulungiswa/Justice. Photo: Ruth Simbao
The Nai Priest pours libations at Brazil House in James Town to officially open the festival on the Day of Re-Membering. Photo: Ruth Simbao
Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi (crazinisT artisT), AgbaWnu, 2018, performed in James Fort. Photo: Silvia Forni.
Kresiah Mukwazhi, Take Me Back to Osibisa, 2018, performed at James Fort. Photo: Ruth Simbao
Exploring the notion of having blood on her hands for not voting in the recent Zimbabwe elections, Mukwazhi draws viewers into her performance as participants. Photo: Ruth Simbao
Charlotte Brathwaite, With the Sand and the Sea, 2018, Ussher Fort. Photo: Silvia Forni
Members of the El Warcha collective from Tunisia collaborated with children in James Town to create functional objects from recycled bamboo sourced in Accra. Photo Ruth Simbao
Percy Nii Nortey, Without a Command, 2018, at the slave auction courtyard in James Fort. Photo: Ruth Simbao
Kiffouly Youchaou, The 7th Continent, 2018, performed at Ussher Fort in James Town. Photo: Ruth Simbao
The Accra Royal Mural Wall. Photo: Ruth Simbao
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