Cultural Heritage Research Journal : 'CHALE WOTE' - Ghana's best bet in the World of Contemporary Arts

As fluid as the seamless flow of a water fall, culture as a phenomenon since time immemorial has never known stagnation irrespective of the people/community that creates it or the geographical setting where it is practiced. The malleability of culture thus accords room for generations after generations who inherit these heritages the leeway to either maintain or augment the existing features/practices of the said culture. Art on the hand is arguably regarded as the soul around which any given culture revolves and sets the precedence around which prospective generations resonate with. The importance of art to the culture of a society is one that cannot be overemphasized.

This leads to the beautiful tale between the historic district of Jamestown and the birth of "Chale Wote" Street Art Festival.

The historic district of Jamestown.
Overview

Jamestown located directly east of the Korle lagoon is a fishing district predominantly occupied by the Ga, an indigenous people of coastal Ghana. It is reputed as one of the oldest and densely populated areas in the capital, Accra. Fondly known as British Accra, history has it that the construction of the James fort and Ussher fort by the British and Dutch respectively in the 17^th century contributed immensely to the emergence of the community. Progressively, the community evolved in size and population to become part of Accra as the capital experienced economic, social and developmental growth. The district was heavily developed by the end of the 19th century and following the rapid growth of the capital during the 20th century, Jamestown became an area of a dense mixture of commercial and residential use.During this period of systematic growth within the district, other important monuments such as the Jamestown light house was built in 1871.

In recent years, Jamestown has carved its contemporary image as a unique location for unconventional lifestyles/art forms, a hot spot for tourists desiring to understand remnants of Accra’s colonial past, home of “Homowo”, an annual festival celebrated by the ‘Ga’ speaking people, and the venue for the ‘Chale Wote’ Street Art Festival.

The CHALE WOTE Wave

On 16^th July 2011, the maiden edition and eight-year romance between Chale Wote street art festival and the historic streets of Jamestown was off to a flying start. “Chale Wote” is a Ga expression which translates as “friend, lets go”. Accra [dot] ALT an independent cultural network that promotes the alternative work of Ghanaian artists and emerging creatives across the globe are the forces behind its inception. The festival is an alternative platform that brings art, music, dance and performance out of the galleries and onto the eclectic streets of James Town, Accra.

It includes street painting, graffiti murals, photo exhibitions, interactive installations,
a food and fashion marketplace, live street performances, extreme sports, African film shows, street boxing, a fashion parade, a music block party, recyclable design workshops and much more. More than 200 Ghana-based and international artists take part in the event every year.

Due to how fast the festival has evolved over the years with constant increase in patronage by locals and international tourists, the festival has morphed from being a one-day event to a week-long celebration of avant-garde creative works in the month of August.

Every year’s celebration is centered around a distinctive theme, thus, 2011 (DIY [do-it-yourself]), 2012 (“Outer space” exploration), 2013 (Re-imagining African folklore by creating exciting and futuristic versions), 2014 (Death: An Eternal Dream into Limitless Rebirth), 2015 (African Electronics), 2016 (Spirit Robot), 2017 (Wata Mata) and, 2018 (Para Other).

Over 30,000 people were recorded in attendance in 2016 and progressively rose to 40,000 in 2017. The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in turn supported the festival this year with ¢300,000 following how extremely successful it has been over the years in boosting the country’s tourism sector.

Just like the dynamics in patterns of a beautifully woven local fabric, the talents of the Ghanaian youth within the sphere of creative arts is on an ascendancy. The strokes of their brushes, the seamless interplay of colors (graffiti, body and canvas painting etc.), the alternative music and dance forms they churn out on a constant basis and a host of other spectacular art forms feels like a breath of fresh air breezing through the historic district of Jamestown. Such a surreal blend of history and artistic futurism.

Relating this to my area of interest/research, the continuous success of this unique festival is a viable option to explore as it gained popularity largely through the use of social media specifically Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Through cost effective marketing in the presentation of its content and receiving feedback/interaction in equal measure from patrons, the team behind its existence develop concepts/themes to suit suggested requirements hence maintaining interest and attracting more people each year. I believe this a blueprint worthy to be looked into and possible suggest as best practice for the presentation of monuments of colonial history of Ghana.

The youth have their dreams tall like the Jamestown lighthouse and with profound ambitions to add to the folklore of the historic district through contemporary art. However, the inevitable question still remains, is the "Chale Wote" street art festival old and worthy enough to be patented/added to the long list of rich cultural festivals that unites and personifies our unique identity and heritage as Ghanaian? I’ll leave that to the National House of Chiefs to decide.
That notwithstanding, what I am very certain about is, adding this extraordinary festival to your bucket list of holiday destinations is one recommendation you will forever be thankful to me for.

Catch you there in August next year!