Here’s how you can become a Digital Amazon

The Street Project Foundation wants you to live the life of your dreams

Digital Amazons is a three weeks workshop for young women gifted in different areas of the creative arts. Participants will be trained by experts in Storytelling, Video Content Creation, Graphics Design, Photography, Copywriting, Digital Marketing, Project Management and Enterprise Development.

Thereafter, they will be matched with mentors and placed on internships in advertising agencies including Media and other Creative Organizations. The goal is to enable Young Women turn their innate creative talents into an enterprise that will guarantee them a sustainable livelihood.

Who Should Apply

• Females aged 18 to 25 years old
• Must be able to read and write in English
• Must have a creative talent
• Must be Nigerian
• Must posses data enabled smartphones/Laptop

Application Timeline

• Application Deadline: June 17th 2019
• Call for Interview: June 28th 2019
• Notification of Selection: July 1st 2019
• Second Cohort runs: July 8th- July 26th 2019

Criteria For Selection

• Applicant must write compelling motivation statement of not less than 200 words and not mor than 500 words on ‘Why they should become a Digital Amazon’
• Applicant must upload or attach video, audio, written document or image of their  creative work.

How To Apply

• Visit The Official Website
• Complete the form
• You will receive a confirmation of submission

This Opportunity is brought to you by Street Project In collaboration with Women in Advertising.

Sudabeh Mortezai’s Netflix Drama ‘Joy’ Shares a Pensive Insight of Africa To Europe Sex Slave Trade

Austrian-Iranian filmmaker Sudabeh Mortezai’s “Joy” explores the harsh reality surrounding sex slave trade across Africa and Europe. The movie, which is an hour and forty-one minutes long, will come to Netflix this Friday.

Just as the name suggests, ‘Joy’ which is supposed to mean everything good is re-characterized with a forced sense of peace. Played by newcomer ‘Joy Anulika Alphonsus’, Joy is working to pay off her trafficking debt which she owed her madam ‘Angela Ekeleme Pius’ to secure her permanent residence abroad (Austria).

Her magnetic, watchful, yet near-depleted eyes tell this prostitute’s story as heartbreakingly as the documentary-tinged scenes, which start and end in Nigeria, but most take place in Austria. The movie also featured a range of newcomers like new Nigerian girl, Precious (Precious Mariam Sanusi) who delivered the character with excellence.

In the movie ‘Joy’ there is a mixed feeling of protectiveness, exasperation, clear-eyed survival, and as strong a need as ever to find a way out.

Nigerian Photographer, Ruth Ossai Pilots Rihanna’s Upcoming ‘Fenty’ Campaign

In the early weeks of May, singer and entrepreneur, Rihanna piloted a history that will forever be remembered as long as women Fashion is concerened. Rihanna became the first woman to launch an original brand at the LVMH luxury goods collective, which is home to brands such as Givenchy, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and now ‘Fenty Maison‘.  

View this post on Instagram

@dieyna_ for @fenty @badgalriri , styling @dfsablon . Thank you to our dream team @angelobaque , Ry, Julie and Fenty team💔💔💔(FENTY IS 4 EVERYONE) 💔💔💔

A post shared by Ruth Ginika Ossai (@ruthossaistudio) on May 26, 2019 at 12:15pm PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

The Fenty brand piloted in Paris last Friday but the online global launch is yet to come.

To prepare for the next phase of Rihanna’s world career, Fenty has been releasing a flow of sartorial images, shot by Nigerian photographer, Ruth Ossai. 

Kehinde Wiley Celebrates the Trans Women of Tahiti

“Tahiti Confronts the Legacy of Paul Gauguin“

Kehinde Wiley who is best known for his Obama art portrait now has series of his work on display in Paris.

Tahiti features images from the lives and times of the Tahiti’s Māhū community, A Polynesian term for people who identify as gender other than male or female.

These feature also pays tribute to Paul Gauguin who was the first person to visit the Tahiti community in 1890. Kehinde’s work is a question to societal norms and ethics as it looks deep to celebrate the Tahiti trans community as it challenges the social construct on gender.

A further look into his new series depicts and re-examines the French colonial legacy. ‘Tahiti’ will be Kehinde Wiley’s first exhibition in Paris since 2016, to be exhibited at the ‘Petite Palais’ The exhibition will also include a video installation depicting his time spent in Tahiti, in addition to the paintings. The show will remain on display until July 20.

Wiley has in the past had solo exhibitions in cities such as St. Louis, New York and Brussels. His 2018 portrait of former President Barack Obama remained one of his most remarkable and marked the first time an African-American artist painted an official U.S. Presidential portrait, and was revealed alongside Amy Sherald‘s portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Biography

Kehinde Wiley was born in Born in 1977 in Los Angeles. He currently lives and works between New York, Beijing, and Dakar. 

Kehinde Wiley graduated from Yale University in 2001 and completed a residency at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 2002. In 2018 he became the first African-American artist to paint an official U.S. Presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Former U.S. President Barack Obama selected the artist for this honor. 

Kehinde Wiley has held solo exhibitions at institutions across the United States and Europe including: Brooklyn Museum, New York; Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels;Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas; the Petit Palais, Paris; Saint Louis Museum of Art, Missouri; and Seattle Art Museum, Washington. His works are included in the collections of numerous public institutions.

In June 2019 in Dakar, Senegal, Kehinde Wiley will inaugurate a new multi-disciplinary artist-in-residency program, Black Rock Senegal.

PITH – The Nigerian Brand Documenting Millennial Experience

Nigerian Adedayo Laketu and Cosmos Ojemen are documenting the essence of Millennial experience in Nigeria with their brand PITH. The brand, which is an up and coming dual-sex brand, was founded in 2016.

While PITH uses fashion to describe and explain lifestyle of every form, with each capsule collection, or Dilly, aiming to act as a snapshot of contemporary culture and represents a chapter in a longer story, the tale of modern Nigeria. This time, the dual-sex brand is documenting the Millennial experience in Nigeria.

”We’re talking about what we’re seeing around us and how we want to explore it, We’re scriptwriters, writing as we go, and we hope to show people what it is to be African.” .airegiN N niinni i nn n nargNn 

Ojamen

Being centered on culture, Pith can be agile in reflecting society back at itself. The duo believes that collections are not limited by seasons or trends and instead interact with people by sparking fresh perspectives.

Watch Snippets Of Their Short Film ‘Skateboarding Rules!’ Below

Akwaeke Emezi’s Debut Novel, ‘Freshwater’ Is Coming To FX

Since the release of her debut novel in 2018, Akwaeke Emezi has moved to the class of celebrated Authors in the country. The book, ‘Freshwater’ has also had many reviews and has no doubt put Emezi in the spotlight. The novel was a finalist for the NYPL Young Lions Award, the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction, and the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. Emezi is repped by the Wylie Agency and Sloss Eckhouse.

Freshwater

To follow up on the achievements of her book, FX Productions has that they are developing a TV Show based on the 2018 Novel. Productions are still at a very early stage, according to FX.

The series will focus on Ada, a Nigerian student in her final year of the university, as she discovers that she has three spirits living in her subconscious. The spirits eventually take control of her, while threatening to ruin her life and sanity. Emezi will write and executive produce the project along with Tamara P. Carter, who was previously a writer for the HBO series, The Leftovers and the Freeform series, The Fosters.

A look inside Victor Ehikhamenor’s Mind in his Daydream Estorica Solo Exhibition

Victor Ehikamenor is as creative as can be, The creative who bags being a visual artist, writer and photographer to his portfolio among many things has made a comeback to the creative scene in his latest solo exhibition in Lagos.

He also has an arsenal of achievements and features among which his arts have appeared on the cover of the multiple award-winning novels by Prolific Nigerian Writer Chimamanda Adichie and Helon Habila; Victor has also published a poetry collection, ‘Sordid Tales’, and several others.

Although very little has been heard from him in the past years, we are glad for this mind blowing Comeback that featured Rele Gallery in the Public exhibition of his latest piece of work titled ‘Daydream Esoterica’.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Victor Ehikhamenor (@victorsozaboy) on May 19, 2019 at 1:42am PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

The Body Of Work In The Series Takes An Introspective Look At The Artist A Conscious Contemporary Nomad Living, Leaving And Thriving In A City That Feeds Its Inhabitants’ Dreams And Frustration And By Its Sheer Nature Demands That In Order To Survive – One Must Daydream”.

Rele Gallery

Just as the title suggests, ‘Daydream Esoterica’ draws inpiration from traditional motifs and religious cosmology. Announcing the exhibition’s launch with a picture at the installation—made from thousands of plastic sunglasses— “Daydreamer’s Paradise (Dream for Free)”

As Kids When We Wore Our Plastic Colourful Sunglasses, Our Honest Dreams Began…We Walked On Air Because The Glasses Changed The Village Topography To A Dreamland. I Welcome You To My Dreamer’s Paradise Where Uwessan Village Meets Lagos Balogun And Sura Markets. May Your Dreams Come True!”

Victor Ehikhamenor

WavytheCreator Comes Through With Futuristic Music Video ‘Body Deep’

Wavy The Creator, has been silent for what seems like ages. She one time stood at the forefront of Nigeria’s alternative music scene amongst many others. Following the release of “Shaku”, Wavy The Creator put her nose down to focus on creating new music that would more sincerely portray her sound.

Now, almost a year later, we have finally gotten a taste of what she’s been working on, courtesy of her latest bop, “Body Deep”.

Produced by Spanker, “Body Deep” boasts an exciting beat, with a heavy bass that immediately begs you to dance. On the track, Wavy The Creator sets the scene for an explicit soiree where only 18-year-olds and above are allowed to engage in the debauchery.

The video for “Body Deep” takes us to 2032, depicting the underground affair Wavy describes. Held in several locations, varying party members join Wavy, who is styled in electrifying patent leather vinyl and polyester spandex pieces.

Watch the video for Wavy The Creator’s “Body Deep” below:

Nigerian Brand ‘Afrominima’ Is Inspired By Japanese And Scandinavian Aesthetics

Afrominima was birthed at the ‘Creative Enterprise Development Program’ facilitated by The British Council, The Lagos Business School and CIDA UK. The homeware brand which has a lifestyle and flavour to its stock was created by Nigerian designer and entrepreneur, Olubunmi Adeyemi.

The homeware includes wooden spoons and platters, spice bowls, mortar and pestle sets, and others; the design and packaging draws attention to a deep sense for simple spaces and objects. 

Influenced by everyday culture, everyday functional objects and innovative use of space, these minimalist designs are in motion to start ‘the minimalist movement’.

Africa is a dynamic land and I am heavily influenced and inspired by our culture but I also believe in moving us forward to the future through design.

Adeyemi

The designs which are heavily inspired by culture and cultural practices, Adeyemi sees Afrominima as more than a brand and though most wouldn’t immediately associate the concept of minimalism with Africa, Adeyemi cites Nigerian languages as just one example of its prevalence.

“My tribe, which is YORUBA, is a popular culture in Nigeria… Our language is very expressive with the use of minimalist words to describe things. For example ‘ORI’ which means ‘head’: this simple word can be used to express so many explanations.”

Adeyemi

VISUAL Radio: Playlist of the Week

From a demon-hearted Santi to an Egotistic Wurld, here are our picks for songs of the week.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/songs-of-the-week-05/pl.u-zPyLmGRTZr2jx8V

Toyin Portrays Black Skin as Textured And Diverse In ‘Testing The Name’

Visual artist Toyin Ojih Odutola’s new collection of drawings is a playful but also a pensive movement of power and a representation in conventional art in every way.

‘Testing the Name’ which is the next chapter in a fictional story about two Nigerian aristocratic families who are joined by the marriage of two men.

Combining traditional portraiture, which historically only featured white subjects and modern techniques, Odutola builds a very interesting narrative based on personal observations and her inner circle.

The collection which was featured in her solo exhibition at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, until September 2018 had previous works from this ongoing story featured at Whitney Museum in the recent exhibition.

She depicts her scenes in pastel, pencil and charcoal, enabling her to create layered drawings that explore the construct of skin colour. Instead of the basics of either black or white, Odutola transforms skin complexion into complex shaded strands.

Ojih Odutola was recently honoured by Amref Health Africa at the ArtBall where she received the Rees Visionary Award. ArtBall is a contemporary African art auction and philanthropic event that aims to raise funds and awareness for Amref Health Africa.

Diana Ejaita’s ‘Iya Ni Wura’ is an ode to motherhood.

With the latest piece of her work featured on the cover of ‘The New Yoker’ Diana Ejait‘s ‘Iya Ni Wura‘ (Mother is Gold) is an ode to motherhood.

Diana is an illustrator and textile designer based in berlin. Born in Italy and spending most of her childhood across many countries in South America and Asia, Diana has also been to many parts of Africa and Nigeria, where she draws her inspiration for the cover of ‘The New Yorker’

Ejaita painting a mural at a community center in Bordum, Turkey, in 2016

An early sketch for the cover Of ‘The New Yorker’

She draws inspiration for both her artistic creativity from a fusion of West African influences. Being born of a Nigerian heritage, Ejaita has found a way of linking to her heritage by making amazing illustrations from fabrics with a blend of aesthetics and style.

Through textiles, I can keep telling stories of my experiences as a kid of the diaspora

Diana Ejaita, in an Interview with ‘The New Yorker’

Diana has always pointed out the importance of West African textile to her as she believes the fabrics all tell different stories.

I also like that in Nigerian visual culture, the symbols work both as decorative elements and as a way to connect with the spiritual world. I look for simple forms and feel that with them I can convey universal messages.

Diana Ejaita in an Interview with ‘The New Yorker’

Over the years, she has also found a way to fuse these African inspired illustrations with European influences. Rather than keeping an eye for the differences in the two cultures, she looks out for a connection.