Melanin Creatives Launch Quarterly Webinar Series to Bridge Town-Gown Knowledge Gaps

Melanin Creatives Academy has launched a quarterly webinar series aimed at bridging knowledge gaps between students and professionals in the design, architecture and creative industries.

The event, which held virtually at the weekend, brought together members of the academia, design professionals and students in the architecture and creative fields in conversations curated to inspire young professional on their career journey as well as share ideas which would shape the future of design, architecture and the creative industries in the near future.

According to the founder, Melanin Creatives Academy and Chief Executive, Iroko Interiors and Consulting, Ms. Ayanda Carter, each edition will help younger professionals understand how industry challenges are being navigated as African creativity takes center stage around the world.

The launch, which also doubled as the first edition of the webinar series, featured presentations from the Dean of the college of environmental sciences and management, Caleb University, Prof. Oluwole Alagbe; Heritage Design Consultant, Mr. Ajala Gbolahan; Principal designer, Haus of Banstead Studio, Mrs. Funmi Adeojo-Shobowale and the event host, Ms. Ayanda Carter.

In his remarks, Prof. Alagbe lauded Melanin Creatives Academy for the programme stating that the mentorship component represents a gap which young professionals struggle with in the course of their career.

He explained that a platform like this will present opportunity for interaction between educators, professionals and talents in the design, architecture and creative fields.

On his part, Mr Gbolahan urged young professionals to embrace their professional journey as a reward in itself while encouraging them to continue taking the necessary steps and actions towards reaching their goal.

The plenary session titled “Two Creative Journeys: Lessons from Canada and Nigeria” engaged participants on the career journeys of two Africans, Ms Ayanda Carter and Mrs. Funmi Adeojo-Shobowale.

Ms Ayanda Carter a South African, born to South African and Mozambique parents, operates an interior design and consulting firm in Lagos, Nigeria, while Mrs. Funmi Adeojo-Shobowale is a Nigerian who studied Chemistry and later delved into interior design, she operates her business in Canada.

Both professionals are living outside their home-country and have built successful enterprises in the interior design space.

According to Carter, her love for creativity from an early age led her from enjoying and engaging fine arts from her elementary and secondary school to studying architecture in the university and eventually translating her passion into a successful career.

“In that journey of asking if my passion was going to make financial sense, I was open to the opportunity of working with people from different countries across the African continent. This allowed me to understand the diversity of other countries within Africa and when the opportunity for Nigeria came along, it allowed me to look at life as a canvas of opportunities to birth my creativity.

“The journey of creativity is about discovering what one is to be and it doesn’t stop,” she said.

On her part, Adeojo-Shobowale, speaking on some differences working on another continent with a culture completely different from her own, said that working younger professionals must understand the terrain in which they want to work and align their business practices to suit their environment.

“In Nigeria, business can be sealed with a handshake over drinks. Here, documentation is huge. You don’t just explain,you must follow processes and documentation it has to be drawn out. People here prefer contracts. Your contracts have to be tight. There has to be procedures and this is a big shift from working in Nigeria.”

Carter and Adeojo-Shobowale encouraged younger professionals to embrace their journey, research their markets thoroughly and reach within themselves to find their uniqueness while engaging free digital resources to inspire their creativity as they go on their journey.