Founder of the Chale Wote Street Art Festival, Mantsee Aryeequaye
Founder of the Chale Wote Street Art Festival, Mantsee Aryeequaye, has emphasized that the much-acclaimed festival had been widely ignored in the Ghanaian space until 2015.
He said this in an interview on 3FM where he highlighted the issues with organizing the festival in its early days. He stated that Chale Wote was only recognized internationally since its inception in 2011 but remained irrelevant in the local space until 2015.
"When we started Chale Wote, nobody cared about it until 2015. We have more consistent press internationally than what we do locally. When you go online and you read articles that have been written on Chale Wote, they have been done by non-Ghanaians," he stated
He added that he and his team had to promote the festival through social media to avoid the high costs of traditional media.
"We had to create our own outlet because when we started Chale Wote, we didn’t have money for advertising. I remember we walked into one of the media houses and got a rate card and I came to tell my people that if we should go through this channel, this thing will not happen. So, we used social media heavily," he added.
Mantsee Aryequaye attributed the disinterest to the lack of understanding and information available to the public on local art events.
"There was a large discontent about it. People were thumbing their nose at it when you could just ask questions because clearly, people didn’t understand and up until now, people still don’t get what Chale Wote is all about thoroughly," he added.
He advised the public to develop a curiosity for previously unknown events and patronize such if necessary.
"When something is happening in your community and you do not understand it and the people are not far away; some who even have proximity to the event, you just ask questions. Let’s be more forward and imaginative in how we perceive things that we supposedly find unusual in our community," he advised.
The Chale Wote Street Art Festival has gained popularity over the years for its unique blend of contemporary and traditional art forms, as well as its emphasis on community engagement and participation. The 13th edition starts from Monday, August 21 to Sunday, August 27, 2023.
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