The annual Chalewote Street Arts Festival happened this year
The 4-day event was themed ‘African Electronics’.
The sheer number of people there shows that art appreciation is the wave now
The works of art on display were fit for the gods
Every artist was out to prove they had art in their genes
For me I believe Chalewote has reached its peak. It won’t be easy to top but for the sake of art lovers I hope they can
Like a lot of the people who showed up, I had no idea what the line-up of activity was
Which was deliberate on my part because I wanted to carve my experience to my taste
The first thing I noticed when I got to High street was how difficult it was to find a parking spot.
And then quickly realised that almost everyone in Jamestown owned a professional camera.
Those who hadn’t caught the professional photography bug came with their selfie sticks
At every point in time someone’s hand was raised to capture greatness for snapchat or instagram.
The video cameras were not absent either.
You could just see those who were there to make it into the news
Because if there is something Chalewote is known for, it is the diversity of fashion
And this year, the bar was raised even higher
For a lot of people, Chalewote is a great time to hang with friends
But finding them, even with specific directions, was no child’s play
Getting from one place to another became a physical battle
Having to swerve good samaritans offering help you didn’t need.
Avoiding sales people who wanted to converse
With the aim of convincing you to pay 30 cedis for things that cost 2 cedis
As with every public event, it is expected that our women would show up with make up
But it was difficult to tell who was fashionably made up and who was trying to change their identity completely.
For what it’s worth, Chalewote is a bigger deal than it has ever been
So congratulations to Mantse and his team at Accra Dot Alt
Pulling off an event like this is a heavy burden for anyone
And I can make a good case for #Chalewote2015’s success
Because even though it wasn’t perfect, I left in high spirits
And I will definitely be coming back next year!
Image Credit: Rogue Lens
