MANTSE ARYEEQUAYE, THE BRAIN BEHIND THE CHALE WOTE FESTIVAL

“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.