The urge for me to move back to Ghana first appeared in 2007 while in Boston, USA. I was in the early stages of writing my first play “That He Said She Said Type Event,” about two different communities in the capital Accra, and therefore I had to imagined myself being in those neighborhoods.

This created a urge that later, when I came back to Stockholm, became more intense. So I pretty much realized that the dream would eventually become reality. It took me 7 whole years after that to actually go all the way, when in January 2014, I was asked to set up the play at a school in East Legon, Accra. The feel of finally returning home was like magic; an experience that enthused mind, body and soul but at the same time felt so natural. Spending time in my country of origin; living in a culture that was always a part of everything I did since childhood made so much sense. After that I became more and more enamored with the thought of relocating to Accra permanently.

Chale Wote Street Art Festival 2016 was an amazing event which spanned the gamut from traditional Ghanaian tales to describing the future through powerful storytelling, theatre performances, innovative art. There were some downright, in-your-face, hard-hitting live performances from some of contemporary Ghana’s greatest performers. It really inspires me to see the results of unity and passion when I look at the growth of Chale Wote, which started just 6 years ago, and every year becomes richer in content, creativeness, people and energy. The festival forged a hotbed of creativity, with attendees becoming a part of the bonanza and radiating their energy right back to Jamestown – the promised land of Accra.

– Stevie Nii-Adu Mensah