Accra Creative Writing Boot Camp

Accra’s literature collectives are running workshops throughout this month to November. Get involved.

 

 

 

CHALE WOTE 2014: THE FILM FESTIVAL

By Jase Tay

FOKN BOIS are coming to Chale Wote 2014 with COS OV MONI

We’re excited about CHALE WOTE 2014 and we can’t wait to see all you fine people out there show up. We have a lot of amazing things happening at this year’s event with an incredible slew of creatives who are sure to blow your mind.

Just like last year’s event, we’re holding a film festival where we’re showcasing what’s new, hot, fresh and upcoming on the continent and beyond, by talented African directors, from all over. We’re showcasing some awesome films you most likely haven’t seen yet, as well as premiering new films and documentaries. Have you seen the incredible Coz ov Moni by our homeboys, the FOKN BOIS? What about Blitz the Ambassador’s Native Sun, Terence Nance‘s phantasmic An Oversimplification of Her Beauty or Giacomo Pecci’s evocative Try and See? You also get to watch a set of stunning music videos that we’re bumping, plus catch up with ACCRA [dot] ALT’s activities.

STROLLING GOATS WITH CHALE WOTE 2014

We promised you a Strolling Goats In Accra edition with some of the most amazing creators in Accra. One of the highlights of this year’s festival is the addition of a street motor biking team in James Town. The Accra House Music station manned by Dj Steloo is certainly one to look out for. Enjoy

 

Photos by Mantse Aryeequaye

Kingpin of the Flat Land Boys Martin Abrokwa has crazy stunts for fans this year

Bad boy Steloo of Accra House Music

STROLLING GOATS IN ACCRA : CHALE WOTE 2014 EDITION coming soon

Bad boy Steloo of Accra House Music is bringing his sound system to #ChaleWote2014

Photo by Mantse Aryeequaye

We happy to announce another season of STROLLING GOATS IN ACCRA with our collaborators for this year’s Chale Wote Street Art Festival. In the coming days we will be publishing a new line up of gorgeous photos of the participating artists. Watch this space.

May #TALKPARTYSERIES: Mensa Highlife + Terrence Nance’s “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty”

We’re back after a short hiatus in April. This time with a two-for-one banger in May.

THE FILM SHOW [begins at 6:00pm]: We are super excited to premiere Terrence Nance’s acclaimed film, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, in Ghana. The film is produced by Jay-Z, Wyatt Cenac, Dream Hampton and Joy Bryant, among others, with the soundtrack created by electric wonder, Flying Lotus. It has played at Sundance and along the global circuit and next Friday the film will debut in Accra.

An Oversimplification is a splendid exploration of love and mourning that blends animation, drama, fantasy and sonic color together. The story follows a quixotic artist who falls for a lovely lady who doesn’t quite fall for him. He then makes a film about their ambiguous affair and shows it to her. Director Terrence Nance will join us for a Q&A via Twitter.

THE LIVE MUSIC SHOW [begins at 8:15pm]: Mensa Highlife grew up in Sweden, the UK and the U.S. The London years shaped him into a full-fledged music producer while the U.S. years shaped an even sharper poet and lyricist. This itinerant lifestyle became the inspiration behind a quirky Jazz-Funk expression that has come to define his art today.

Now back in Ghana and inspired by the traditional mystic of sparse drum rhythms, Mensa Highlife is experimenting with a soulful unity between the past and present. He is currently promoting the single, “Ofori’s Story,” and Mensa will premiere it live at the Talk Party Series this month. He will also be performing songs from an upcoming album.

It’s a free party as usual. Join us for dope dialogues, a cool crowd, ice cold drinks and mad music!

6-9PM | Friday, May 30th | Passions Premium Restaurant | Osu Ringway | 2 streets behind Country Kitchen or 1 street behind Pippa’s Gym

CHALE WOTE 2014 : CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

 

ACCRA [dot] ALT in association with REDD KAT Pictures, Foundation for
Contemporary Art Ghana, Dr. Monk, Attukwei Art Foundation and No Limit
Charity have begun preparation for the Fourth Annual CHALE WOTE Street Art
Festival, which will be held over two days on Saturday, August 23 – Sunday,
August 24, 2014.

The CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival is an alternative platform that brings art,
music, dance and performance out of the galleries and onto the streets of James
Town, Accra. Our vision is to cultivate a wider audience for the arts in West
Africa by breaking creative boundaries and using art as a viable form to
rejuvenate public spaces. The CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival challenges both
artists and community-based audiences to connect through art.

Accra’s deepest history lies in James Town, the original port city leading to the
development of Ghana as a nation. James Town is a time capsule and a treasure
trove all at once. The place is filled with beautiful colonial architecture and
spirited boxing legends, a tumultuous history of the transatlantic slave trade and
and a people’s diehard spirit to remember who they are. Here a constellation of
families, cultural practices, and aquatic livelihoods persistently remix James
Town’s past, present and future. It is a place of endings and beginnings, of
ongoing deaths and rebirths.

CHALE WOTE 2014 – Call for submissions.

 

Download application here  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8kvvoVZsmurSy1aMVhqZ3Focmc/edit

THE TALK PARTY SERIES: LAWN JAM

 

We’re back this March with a special TALK PARTY SERIES event to celebrate International Women’s Month. We’re bringing the ever-dope LAWN JAM to Trade Fair, in collaboration with Fashionista GH.

We’ve got a bangin’ SUN-day party planned with two of our favorite DJs – DJ Pam Bam + DJ Keyzzz – who will keep backsides bumping all afternoon long. Stop over on Sunday, 30th March from 3- 6pm at the Fashionista Pavilion [Event Haven], Trade Fair and jam with us small.

HOME FOR INSPIRATION: TAWIAH’S ACCRA REUNION

Stopping traffic in Downtown Accra

by MOLLY SULLIVAN | photos by ABASS ISMAIL and MANTSE ARYEEQUAYE

A year after her first Skype Talk Party Series experience, TAWIAH’s much anticipated return to Accra proved to be well worth the wait.

An intimate evening with the Ghanaian British singer/songwriter began with an open Q&A, where questions sprung out about her creative process and the musicians that influenced her at ages 8, 16, 24, and now (her list included gospel, Wu-tang Clan, Erykah Badu, Radiohead, Me’shell Ndegeocello, the Spice Girls, and her own stuff)

Posing with a thrift store owner in Downtown Accra

Accompanied by Tawiah’s commentary, we screened music videos from FREEdom DROP, her illmatic mixtape released last March. Videos for  “TearDROP”, “FACes”, and “SEAlion”– all teased the crowd into stunned silence. Tawiah shared with us the inspiration for these songs, the vision behind the videos, and amusing anecdotes from her creation process. She discussed the decision to set the music video for “FACes” in Accra, the choice to deviate from the standard song structure with “SEAlion”, and her inability to sink during the filming of “TearDROP”.

Posting up outside a clothing stall in Northridge

The evening concluded with a chillingly beautiful, live performance. Tawiah, poised for utter destruction, propped up her guitar on a knee, a loop station beneath her feet. There was a noticeable shift in the room when Tawiah began to sing – a collective leaning in of bodies gravitating towards the perfect plethora of sound making. The set included two new songs from a forthcoming album this year. Upon much pleading from the audience, Tawiah consented to perform again, this time with a slow jam remix of Soul for Real’s ’95 classic, “Candy Rain”.

Luckily, amidst the praise and congratulations from fans that followed, we were able to pull Tawiah aside for some final questions about the reception to FREEdom DROP, her two week visit in Ghana, and what to expect next from the musician.

2/28: TAWIAH x The Talk Party Series

Meet us at Friday’s Talk Party, 6:30 – 9:30pm

Last February, we held a special Talk Party Series with Ghanaian-British singer and songwriter, TAWIAH. At that time she had just wrapped production on her much-feened for mixtape, FREEdom DROP, and we gave the Accra fans a rare premiere before the rest of the world heard it. We also got a chance to rap with Tawiah via Skype and were even privy to an intimate live performance.

For those of us who saw Tawiah tear the stage apart at IND!E FUSE 2012, we have been patiently waiting to resurrect the magic of that night’s performance. Well wait no more, Accra city people. Tawiah’s back in the building and she will be representing at this Friday, Feb. 28th’s Talk Party. Tawiah will share a bit of her audiovisual exploration with us plus you’ll get to ask her all the questions you want. We also get a chance to hear some of her new material.

BLITZ THE AMBASSADOR HAS ACCRA CITY DREAMING AGAIN

Blitz takes in all the #Accra love

Going in red and deep. Blitz Taking it all in- #AfropolitanDreams concert #Accra 

In the shadows. #AfropolitanDreams comncert

Afrobeat/Jazz lengend Gyedu Blay Ambolley brought his illest Sax game to the jam. #AfropolitanDreams concert #Accra

Jamming with the drummer Syd- Embassy MVMT. #Accra