Circumspecte

The third annual CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival takes place in James Town on September 7 th  and 8 th , 2013. The festival is produced by ACCRA [dot] ALT and a host of collaborators across the city including The Foundation for Contemporary Art – Ghana, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Institut Français, Alliance Française, Dr. Monk, No Limits Charity, Absolut Vodka and The Attukwei Art Foundation. The second edition of the CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival held on April 14th, 2012 was a major success and the collective effort of many young people—ranging from artists, musicians and writers to designers, students and activists—who worked together to produce Accra’s only street art festival. The one-day festival included street painting, sidewalk painting, graffiti murals, live music performances, a fashion circus, extreme sport stunting, experimental theater, spoken word, art workshops and Installations. The festival d rew over 4,000 people last year - loads more people are...

                           Some time back I wrote a blog on a genre of music I call “conscientious” GH music – the kind that makes you stop right there in the midst of an azonto move or heart-thumping beat. Not because the tune changed, but because you have to think - to actually ponder the weight of the words contained in song. For that category I mentioned folks like Efya and Manifest, and hinted at new comers like Chase. I also mentioned Paapa of “Songs for Kukua” fame as someone to watch. Well, watch I did. Last Saturday Alliance Francaise hosted Paapa in collaboration with 3rd Channel Direct, Skillions Records, 6Milu Media and Accra [dot] alt. The talented young song writer and musician decoded his inaugural album which is home to the masterpiece of a single, Write for Me”. To say that we witnessed talent in realization would be an understatement. Appetizers - Funky Prof, Sandra Huson, Sharifa, Fai...

“Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words.” - Rumi  -- It goes without saying that I'm somewhat of an oddity in these parts. Everyone's looking at me. I probably should have done some quick research online to get a sense of the diversity in Istanbul, but I was too eager to get outside, to breathe in the same air that Rumi probably did way back in the 13th century. Okay, maybe the same air is an exaggeration, but I really wanted to just immerse myself in what little of Turkey I had access to, even if for the briefest of moments. And so I ventured outside the Radisson Blu hotel where I'm staying, compliments of Turkish Air. I had been told there wasn't too much to see here besides a park and a bridge. The hotel reviews online generally said the location was great for transits given the proximity of the airport, but far removed from the city's historical sites. That's fine, I didn't want tourism, I wanted Tur...

You were there when Trayvon died. As the country screams for justice and tears are wrung from bleeding hearts, one truth remains. Trayvon died.   You killed him. He died because you killed him. Many tongues and even more minds have more than two cents to share about your motive. About the canker sores that eat at the cores of the United States of America. Conversations and talks, Tweets and walks, Protest, cry outs One-liners and shouts Someone feels the pain of a lost child. You killed a child, Mr. Zimmerman, No one knows that better than you because the only other person who could is now dead. You were there when Trayvon died. Mr. Zimmerman, it must be something difficult you’re going to have to deal with. You were with him in his last moments. Did you speak to him? Did you yell out the last words he heard on earth? You were there when Trayvon died. Mr. Zimmerman, you’ll probably be plagued for a while, fin...