ACCRA [dot] ALT, REDD KAT Pictures, Foundation for Contemporary Art, Ghana, Attukwei Art Foundation and No Limit Charity Foundation have begun preparation for the Fifth Annual CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival 2015 which will be held on Saturday, August 22nd  + Sunday, August 23rd 2015 in  James Town, Accra.

The CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival is an alternative platform that brings art, music, dance and performance out into the streets. The festival targets exchanges between scores of local and international artists and patrons by creating and appreciating art together. Since 2011, CHALE WOTE has included street painting, graffiti murals, photography, theater, spoken word, interactive art installations, live street performances, extreme sports, film shows, a fashion parade, a music block party, recyclable design workshops and much more.
This year, CHALE WOTE is tapping into a super power grid. Over the last 50 years, Ghana has been caught in a web of instability. Despite “Independence,” the country has not been able to create autonomy for the state or its citizens. If we are unable to think ourselves out of this state of hyper debt and powerlessness, we will one day become permanently crippled, or worse, extinct. We have now reached a point that requires the impossible. Ghana is filled with an abundance of natural resources, including an ever-present beaming sun. So how can we, as people, tap into the natural, human and man-made resources surrounding us? How can we imagine and create more fulfilling lives?

These questions shape the theme of this year’s CHALE WOTE. In 2015, we meditate into action on the term,  African Electronics.

African Electronics is a popular term describing indigenous esoteric knowledge that Ghanaians use to create the impossible. It is the grand manifestation of our most powerful creative ability as a people, the cryogenic refrigerant that has kept our technologies alive across time. It is a way out – a secret pathway to possibilities unseen before. Through this portal, we document histories of triumph, innovation and encounters with the unimaginable. It is the magic wand that creates what we want at will and transports us wherever we want to go. African Electronics is timelessly regenerating the next wave of transformative energy. Here are no more borders, no need for passports and aircrafts. New frequencies are recreating Ghana, Africa, and the world, through a tunnel traveling from the past through the future. With African Electronics, we look at how race, culture, art and technology merge to create a different kind of world that is inclusive, diverse, electric, and on the move. How do we imagine a world where we are technology  and in full control of our systems and data – our histories, realities, and dreams?

Submission Guidelines

WHO CAN APPLY

1. Ghana-based Artists

The call is open to all Artists and collectives living and working in Ghana. Submit a full budget for the production of your work at the festival. Selected artists will be expected to realise the works from August 16 – 23, 2015 and have it ready for display or performance on August 22 – 23, 2015.

Please note that there is limited funding available for the realization of works for the selected Ghana-based artists.

2. International Artists

The call is also open to artists across the globe. Selected artists will be expected to realise the works from  August 16 – 23, 2015  and have it ready for display or performance on August 22 – 23, 2015.

CHALE WOTE is an independent event produced by ACCRA [dot] ALT and a number of community-based, art collectives across Accra. The festival is still growing and the funding for international participation is limited. International Artists hoping to participate are encouraged to apply for funding from their home countries or other sources to support their travel, living costs, accommodation and funding for the cost of production for their work.

One possible resource for travel for African applicants is Art Moves Africa. Please note that we will provide accommodation and round-trip transportation to the Accra airport to some selected international artists. International artists who are able to pay for all aspects of their travel, accommodation, and production are also encouraged to apply.

HOW TO APPLY (All Artists)

1. Indicate your type of work with up to 3 definitions of the following: PNT (painting); PHO (photography); SCL (sculpture); DRW (drawing); INS (installation); SS (site specific intervention); VD (video); PRF (performance); MM (multi media); NM (new media); WEB (web based); INT (interactive). If your type of work is not on this list, please state it.

2. Provide a current resume or CV: 3 pages maximum. Artists must be professionally active for at least two (2) years with a visible commitment to their professional artistic practice and media. Having studied art is NOT a requirement. We also accept applications from self-taught professional artists with at least two (2) years working experience.

3. Submit a concept document [max. 500 words] of works that have been created or yet to be created. The concepts can be based on work to be realized as either an intervention, a live performance, an installation, a video, photography, painting, sculpture, performance art, theatre, dance working with technology, via social media, totally interactive or some other form newly imagined. All works should translate to being displayed or performed in a public space and should actively engage intentional and incidental audiences where possible.

4. Submit documentation of your work done in the last two (2) years. You can either submit images OR video documentation, NOT both. Please note that if you submit both, your application will be disqualified.

Video documentation will be reviewed ONLY for artists whose work is time-based, interactive, web-based, kinetic, film, video and performance. If you work with installation, site-specific, painting, sculpture and/or drawing, you MUST submit images.

5. IMAGES: Six (6) jpeg images, at 180 DPI resolution minimum, maximum total file size 250kb. Images must be titled with your last name, first name, number with no spacing: e.g. kojonortey1.jpg, kojonortey2.jpg.

6. IMPORTANT: we only accept jpgs. Do not submit: Powerpoint presentations, PDF, TIFF, Gif or PSD files.

Email complete applications, according to the outline above, to accra.alt@gmail.com

Deadline for submission of applications: May 8th, 2015

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