‘Woori Festival 2025’ returns to Loho with expanded programming and an international exchange of ideas
Courtesy of Nubuke Foundation.
Nubuke Foundation’s ‘Woori: A Festival of our Weaving Tradition’ returns to Loho in Ghana’s Upper West Region from 6 March to 30 June 2025, marking the festival’s fifth anniversary. Organised by the Nubuke Foundation Centre for Textiles and Clay, this year’s edition explores the theme ‘The role of collaboration in harnessing the potential of weaving for socio-economic development’.
Rooted in the handwoven traditions of the Upper West, ‘Woori Festival’ has grown into a dynamic celebration of community, creativity and cultural preservation. Its 2025 edition highlights how collaboration—across borders, generations, and disciplines—can reframe weaving not only as cultural heritage but also as a catalyst for economic resilience and social innovation.
Timed to coincide with Ghana’s Independence Day and International Women’s Day, the festival pays tribute to the role of women in sustaining weaving practices. Their labour, knowledge and artistry remain central to the region’s family livelihoods and broader cultural life.
A central provocation for the 2025 edition is a question posed by Austrian artist and Professor Barbara Putz-Plecko—“Why collaborate?”—which has shaped the festival’s curatorial direction over the past four years. In response, this year’s festival features contributions from artists and educators from Ghana, Austria, Germany and the USA, embracing mutual learning through shared creative processes.
For the first time, ‘Woori Festival’ will unfold across three locations, with its most discursive and performative programmes scheduled from 6 to 9 March. The festival’s broader exhibition programme will remain open until the end of June 2025.
Participating artists include Jemima Fordjour, Blanche Boni-Mississo, Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku, Simon Bowman Jr., King David Osabutey, Fran Redeker, Dzidefo Amegatsey and Enoch Laryea Nii-Adjei. Their works span textile and fibre-based practices and often engage with specific audiences, including youth and members of the visually impaired and deaf communities.
Skill-sharing workshops form a key pillar of the festival. Led by the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, and involving members of the Modern Traditional Cloth Weavers Association (Nadowli) and Tietaa Weavers Association (Nandom), these sessions will explore traditional and contemporary weaving techniques, sustainability, and recycled materials. The workshops also foreground the role of co-creation and community engagement in revitalising craft knowledge.
Beyond textiles, the festival continues to expand its interdisciplinary scope. Visitors can expect poetry readings, food tastings, film screenings, musical and theatrical performances, and a fashion showcase, all celebrating the Upper West’s living heritage and contemporary creativity.
The festival builds on momentum from previous international presentations, including Nubuke Foundation’s fabric installation with Upper West weavers at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in October 2023. It reflects Nubuke Foundation’s ongoing commitment to supporting Ghanaian artists and connecting traditional practices with global networks.
‘Woori Festival 2025’ is more than a showcase—a space of exchange, questioning, and imagination. By placing collaboration at its core, the festival affirms weaving as a practice of making, community building, and collective transformation.
The exhibition is on view from 6 March until 18 June 2025. For more information, please visit the Nubuke Foundation.
