Entertainment
Chale Wote Street Art Festival moves to Black Star Square
Chale wote street art festival
The 13th edition of Chale Wote Street Art Festival will be held at the Black Star Square near the Osu Castle in Accra.
Africa’s most vibrant street art festival opens on Monday, August 21, to Sunday, August 27. This 2023 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 across the world.
Black Star Square, the adjoining streets and the Osu community will witness 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.
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 performed as a musical theatre piece called “Memory Movement Freedom” by multiple community-based performance, 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 shows will include performance art, graffiti, 4 music stages with 120 musicians and bands, labs, salons, design, photography, processions, street theatre 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 book walking tours to visit historical sites and buildings with fascinating stories within the Osu community. The world-famous Highlife Cafe’ opens at the Black Star Square for the first time alongside the Accra Cookout serving the city’s favourite dishes and obscure delicacies