Abstract
Contributed works to the ANU exhibition 'The Art of Anthropology: Photographs from the Field'
Exegesis of contributed photos:
Jamestown is one of the oldest suburbs in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. It’s a place of diversity and community. While other suburbs have experienced much internal migration from other parts of Ghana, many of the original Ga families of this area still call Jamestown home. As a coastal port, its residents have seen significant change and the neighourhood is peppered with colonial architecture, food stalls, football matches and shrines. It is one of the most densely and lowest socio-economic regions in Accra and known for producing boxers and artists. Jamestown’s residents are highly conscious of visitors and the impressions they form. Local community organisations conduct walking tours as a narrative tool to manage what and how their home is perceived. At a larger community level, the annual Chale Wote Street Art Festival provides artists with the opportunity to canvas the streetscapes of Jamestown with their perspectives and experiences. Creations include street and sidewalk painting, chalk art, graffiti murals, roller blade/skate stunting, live music performances and spoken word. The festival is a time when the narrations and interactions of this community are presented loudly and proudly to the broader Ghanaian, and non-Ghanaian, population. As the organisers of the 2014 Festival explained, “we are evaluating Accra as a space station, a portal with the potential to rebirth new histories, possibilities, hopes and desires. We will exhibit art works that remodel our perceptions and interactions with design in public spaces” (http://www.okayafrica.com/news/chale-wote-street-art-festival-call-for-artists/). As a non-Ghanaian residing in broader Accra, the Chale Wote festival seemed to draw Accra’s residents out to interact and renegotiate with one of the city’s most engaging suburbs, with an aim to do this in and on its own terms.
Exegesis of contributed photos:
Jamestown is one of the oldest suburbs in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. It’s a place of diversity and community. While other suburbs have experienced much internal migration from other parts of Ghana, many of the original Ga families of this area still call Jamestown home. As a coastal port, its residents have seen significant change and the neighourhood is peppered with colonial architecture, food stalls, football matches and shrines. It is one of the most densely and lowest socio-economic regions in Accra and known for producing boxers and artists. Jamestown’s residents are highly conscious of visitors and the impressions they form. Local community organisations conduct walking tours as a narrative tool to manage what and how their home is perceived. At a larger community level, the annual Chale Wote Street Art Festival provides artists with the opportunity to canvas the streetscapes of Jamestown with their perspectives and experiences. Creations include street and sidewalk painting, chalk art, graffiti murals, roller blade/skate stunting, live music performances and spoken word. The festival is a time when the narrations and interactions of this community are presented loudly and proudly to the broader Ghanaian, and non-Ghanaian, population. As the organisers of the 2014 Festival explained, “we are evaluating Accra as a space station, a portal with the potential to rebirth new histories, possibilities, hopes and desires. We will exhibit art works that remodel our perceptions and interactions with design in public spaces” (http://www.okayafrica.com/news/chale-wote-street-art-festival-call-for-artists/). As a non-Ghanaian residing in broader Accra, the Chale Wote festival seemed to draw Accra’s residents out to interact and renegotiate with one of the city’s most engaging suburbs, with an aim to do this in and on its own terms.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2015 |