Before the productivity vacuum that is December (for all good reasons of course – celebration, family, rest, reflection etc.), this seems like the perfect time to devote to complacency-shaking, butt-kicking inspiration and knowledge, with regards to entrepreneurship.
When I use the term "entrepreneurship", I refer to all entrepreneurial people – whether they are employed by somebody else, cultivating a side hustle or running their fully-fledged own thing. So, if you're reading this blog, I'm pretty sure that includes you.
We can all agree that, if you've got something to share with others – be it a product, service, idea or philosophy – you need to make it accessible to your audience.
… Unless your audience lives more than 2 miles away.
I think the majority of us can also agree that, in this day and age, having some kind of online presence is a no-brainer. Especially if your product, service, idea or philosophy is one that can add value for people who may be hundreds or even thousands of miles away from where you are.
Tinga Tinga Tales is inspired by traditional animal stories from Africa. The aesthetic is inspired by the Tingatinga artwork of Tanzania and I really like how they've interpreted it for the animation medium.
The show is produced by Tiger Aspect Productions in association with Homeboyz Entertainment in Kenya and the first animation studio in Nairobi trained over 50 Kenyans in design, animation, editing and sound engineering.
I recently met Hamed Ouattara when he was in London for the Graphic Africa exhibition featuring designers from Design Network Africa. Along with my first experience talking through an interpreter (awkward!), it was a great opportunity to see Hamed's furniture in the flesh – or should I say metal!
Based in Burkina Faso, Hamed works primarily with recycled materials, creating pieces that marry culture and modernity. Functional design that reflects the reality of his environment and that can be integrated into daily life, all the while adding beauty to it. He is a man after my own heart when he says:
I managed to check out the Ellen Gallagher AxME exhibition at London's Tate Modern gallery before it ended at the start of this month. I left making plans about how I was going to find some time, somewhere, to indulge in one of my favourite creative pastimes – collage.
Why do I love collage so? It can be so many things at the same time: ornate and gritty, playful and provocative. For me, the process is quite cathartic – it forces me to relinquish control because, the end result is rarely close to what I expected or planned. Plus, I do like to get my hands dirty!
Here are some pieces from some artists whose work I'm enjoying …
Last weekend, I was presented with the opportunity to feature on Henry Bonsu's show, Shoot the Messenger, which airs on Vox Africa UK. I've never properly been on a TV show before so the whole experience was both exciting and frightening at the same time!
When I was about to finish my undergraduate degree at Pratt Institute, I decided to have some business cards made, to prepare me for the big bad world of work (or to be more precise, looking for it). I found this deal in downtown Brooklyn where I could get 5,000 cards for a relatively reasonable price. So I decided to design cards with content that would be relevant for many years to come. That meant two things:
The eclectic and critically acclaimed London African Music Festival returns for an 11th instalment, running from September 13th - 22nd, across 11 venues.
From Congolese soul to Senegalese rap; from Somali poet to Cuban band; afrobeat, jazz, blues and more. Seriously, it's going to be a hectic 10 days!
It's a first on Afri-love - underwear! And not just any kind of underwear but a line of premium boxer shorts for the gentlemen who are oft-neglected when it comes to posts on this here blog. Introducing President For Life. The brainchild of Egya Appiah, a Brooklyn-based self-described "corporate lawyer by day and merchant by night". Limited edition, handmade in Ghana by old-school master tailors, with cotton sourced from one of Ghana's oldest and most renowned companies. Sure to create a pleasant surprise with their vibrant colours and prints!
Award-winning Creative Director, Jon Daniel, has curated what is set to be an exciting adventure – the Afro Supa Hero exhibition, running from 14 September 2013 – 9 February 2014, at the V&A Museum of Childhood in London. The exhibition will give us an insight into Jon's own experience, as a boy of African Caribbean heritage, growing up in 1960s and 1970s Britain. Jon's collection of action figures, games, comics and other paraphernalia, starring pop culture heroes and heroines of the African diaspora, represent some of the positive black role models he (and many of us, around the world) grew up with.
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