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Black Stars Square in Osu to host Chale Wote Street Art Festival
The 13th edition of Chale Wote Street Art Festival will be held at the Black Star Square in Osu.
Africa’s most vibrant street art festival opens on Monday 21st to Sunday 27th August. This 2023 cycle of 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, as well as co-creations 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.
This year’s Chale Wote Street Art Festival will have no activities in James Town.
According to the organisers, 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 theatre piece called Memory Movement Freedom by multiple community based performance, dance troupes and brass band.
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 working outside of gallery spaces.
The castle gardens will also host the Chale Wote Film
LABS and knowledge sharing salons from August 22 to 24. 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.
They have entreated lovers of arts to join them 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 unrivalled
reputation for consistently featuring hundreds of performances, exhibitions across stages, throughout the festival grounds. African audiences are now connected to new perspectives of authentic creators who are developing spaces dedicated to independent art production through the festival year after year.
Advertisers interested in brand placement and exhibitor pavilions have been asked to contact the festival operations unit.
The event is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Hon. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings (PhD), Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey Constituency,
Arts & Culture, Ghana Tourism Authority, Accra [Dot] Alt, CITI FM/TV, Institute Francais, Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly, Ghana Museums & Monuments Board, Lododo Art and PramCiti TV
.
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
