TUUMATU 2016

3 days of culture, music and dance

The James Town community showcased its diverse talents and celebrated its creativity as part of TUUMATU Creativity Festival held in December 2016. Day one focused on bringing performing artists together to exchange ideas and dance styles. As part of day two the community played childhood games and created toys with recycled materials accompanied by live performances. Day three offered an evening program bringing artists and performers together in a showcase of local and international talent hosting performers from around the world and Africa including artists from Singapore, France and Burkina Faso.

TUUMATU 2015

3 days of culture, music and dance

The 2015 Festival attracted the attendance of approximately 5000 people from both within and outside the James Town community as well as reaching beyond Ghana’s borders through the Committee’s wide international network channels and YouTube. The Festival included activities such as: Toy-making workshops using traditional techniques with found and recyclable objects encouraging the idea of sustainability; Playing games such as hopscotch; Making and flying kites and playing Oware; and also creating a platform for local and international artists to showcase and present innovative and challenging works.  

To read more about last years Festival go to: http://artsghana.org/tuumatu-festival-exposes-raw-talent-in-james-town/

TUUMATU 2014

Launching a new arts and cultural Festival in James Town, Accra

TUUMATU was founded and launched by Lucky Lartey (originally from James Town) in 2014 to bring people together across the generations to reinvigorate the learning and playing of childhood games and reconnect them to their history and culture. It was  aimed at showcasing the vibrant local talent of the James Town community by collaborating with local independent artists. This Festival is unique to any other that has been hosted in Accra or Ghana before.

The 2014 Festival attracted the attendance of approximately 1500 people from both within and outside the James Town community as well as reaching beyond Ghana’s borders through the Committee’s wide international network channels and YouTube. The Festival included activities such as: Toy-making workshops using traditional techniques with found and recyclable objects encouraging the idea of sustainability; Playing games such as hopscotch; Making and flying kites and playing Oware; and Performances by acrobats, soccer players, bike riders and dancers in the centre of James Town.

Key outcomes from the 2014 Festival included 1) the showcasing of the hand crafted toys and professional photographs being displayed as part of the Cross Cultural Collaborative’s “Ghana Life: A Cultural Reflection” Exhibition in August 2015, held at the Centre for National Culture’s Arts Centre Gallery, Accra; and 2) photo’s and video footage of the Festival being used in this years Sydney and Melbourne Fringe Festivals (Australia) as part of Lucky Lartey’s original dance and percussion show Jamestown! which premiered in Sydney in September 2015.