Ghana’s Alice Banaaza spotlights fugu weaving at 2026 CHAN Festival in UK

Ghanaian weaver Alice Banaaza exhibited her traditional fugu weaving techniques at the 2026 Chocolate Has a Name Festival in Halifax, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The festival, themed "The Untutored Mind: A Thing of Beauty," ran from 27th August to 31st August 2026. Live weaving demonstrations by Banaaza took place throughout the exhibition and continued until 6th September.

The event aimed to showcase textile knowledge as a living practice rather than a static display. Banaaza, an Indigenous Ghanaian weaver, demonstrated the processes, techniques, and knowledge behind fugu weaving, sharing how this distinctive northern Ghanaian textile tradition is passed down through generations. Her presence at the festival underscored the significance of living knowledge intersecting with object collections.

Fugu, a handwoven textile from northern Ghana, is commonly worn as clothing items like smocks, shirts, and dresses. Its cultural importance was highlighted during Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama's state visit to Zambia in February 2026, when his fugu became a topic of social media conversation. The discussion led to a strong defense of the garment in Ghana, prompting the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts to declare Wednesdays as National Fugu Day.

This initiative seeks to preserve and promote Ghanaian cultural heritage while supporting local weavers, designers, artisans, and traders. The Chocolate Has a Name Festival, centered around Ghana's cocoa story, has been held in Halifax since 2024. The 2026 edition, "The Untutored Mind: A Thing of Beauty," places African textile heritage, authorship, and living weaving knowledge at its core.