“The Chale Wote Street Art Festival was born in a
spirit of recapturing the freedom and essence of African art in a post-colonial
environment, functioning independently of state control and a non-profit
festival free to the public. More than 10,000 people went down to Jamestown
neighbourhood that hosted the event to see interactive performances,
visual installations, theatre parades, live mural paintings, musical
performances, conceptual fashion for the 5th annual street art
festival. The festival hosted more than 200 locally and internationally
based visual artists, poets, film-makers, vendors, photographers, musicians,
and performance artists - each with their own diverse interpretations of the
festival's vision”.
That was how documentary photographer, freelance multimedia
journalist and short doc-film maker focused on African storytelling, Qualid
Khelifi, described the fifth edition of the Chale Wote festival in his report for
the Doha-based state-backed broadcaster funded
by the House of Thani, the ruling family of Qatar, Al Jazeera.This gives one an idea how big the annually held event has become with coverage from not only local and pan-African media houses but internationally respected news outlets including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Al Jazeera and The African Channel (USA).
This has become possible, thanks to Ghana based
company ACCRA [DOT] ALT,
an independent cultural network founded in 2010 that promotes the
alternative work of Ghanaian artists and emerging creative brains across the
globe as a launch pad for African alternative music,
video and art. ACCRA [DOT] ALT is led by multitalented showbiz personality, Mantse
Aryeequaye.
Mantse Aryeequaye
is a household name within the Ghanaian Arts and Entertainment Industry and
needs no introduction – a television and radio host, filmmaker, event and
documentary director, public relations specialist, music production expert and
a creative writer.
Yes Mantse is a
creative writer! He previously worked as a copywriter, during which he scripted
some of the best concepts for radio and television commercials we have witnessed.
Mantse gave yours truly the opportunity to develop his writing skill and also
learn the ropes! In 2008, then a student of the University Of Ghana, I was
offered a role as a reporter with then vibrant bi-weekly entertainment
publication, JIVE, by Mantse who then served as the Editor. Together
with the other team members - award winning journalist, Anny Osabutey, now
presidential staffer, Stan Dogbe and Joy FM’s Ato Kwamena Dadzie, Mantse
assisted me to enhance my writing prowess, learnt the rudiments of the trade
and more importantly understanding the rationale to be unique and an agent of
change.
In addition to his
versatility, multiple talents and creativity, Mantse is well-read, upfront, a
non-conformist and brutally truthful. Though being the no nonsense type and
sometimes quick tempted, Mantse has a unique way of making strangers feel at home.
Whenever he decides to review and critic your work, his comments are always
constructive.
In his quest to give
meaning to the arts, he assembled a team of volunteers, creative brains and
close friends including myself in 2011 to introduce a concept which
fuses art with history and digital technology to create new and revisionist
works. That was the birth of the Chale Wote festival and five years after,
Mantse together with his business partner, Sionne Neely, have succeeded
in putting Ghana on the world map again and staking new
claims on the future of country with the annual festival.
In addition to the
Chale Wote Arts Festival, Mantse and his team at ACCRA [DOT] ALT have for the
last four years organized the Indie Fuse Concert - an
annual indie music festival featuring emerging Ghanaian and international
artists in December every year. Last year, the event was rebranded and the name
changed to Sabolai Radio. Likewise, the venue was changed from Alliance
Française to the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park.
Another important project being
organized by the group is the Talk Party Series – a free monthly platform
that brings together creative professionals, social entrepreneurs, bloggers,
artists, students and organizations to share ideas about life in the African
city and to create projects that transform communities through interactive,
public art.
About the motivation for introducing
these initiatives, Mantse said “ACCRA [DOT] ALT began in October 2010 as an
idea for an alternative Ghanaian music concert in December of that year. Almost
four years later, the network has expanded into a year-round cultural outlet. A
one-of-a-kind concept in West Africa, ACCRA [DOT] ALT is a launch pad for
African alternative music, video and art. There is a viable, global industry
for African content out there. With this in mind, we develop fresh content –
photography projects, short films, music videos, merchandise, and commercial
advertising. We also create original programming – music events, art shows,
film screenings, live concerts, roundtables, workshops, tours, and festivals – in
the heart of Accra. We work with a rapidly expanding crew of artists, writers,
designers and other creative professionals to produce our programming”.It’s certainly a good time to be a Ghanaian, especially a creative brain, lover and contributor to the arts as well as an entrepreneur investing substantially into the arts at different levels who can take advantage and cash in on the new found global attention and focus on the Ghanaian arts space.
In a country where most of the citizenry rarely
appreciates or cares about the arts, Mantse has succeeded in causing a paradigm
shift with his movement. Currently, alternative musicians and other players
within the arts are making substantial income from their works thanks to the
enormous exposure from ACCRA [DOT] ALT
activities.
