Nigerian Creative Roundtable for COVETEUR

-- Photos by Daniel Obasi // Styled by Alexander-Julian (all clothing by young Nigerian designers)

THE NIGERIAN CREATIVE ROUNDTABLE

for COVETEUR.

---

Gifted with a deep and rich culture, today’s African artists have imagined up a world where these traditions are brought into the 21st century, a cultural aesthetic popularly known as Afromodernism. Nigeria has served as a fashion and music hub for this culture cultivation, leading the pack of African creatives. So I went to Nigeria and gathered some of the new class of influential creative artists for a roundtable shot by Daniel Obasi, the 23 year old photographer/art director, who has been capturing the beauty of these creative minds, including his own, for the past few years. They say humanity started in Africa, if so, Nigeria was definitely where they got fresh first.

––– check out the full story at coveteur.com

Falana

Musician

Age: 28

CV: Musical Artist, “The 5 Coolest Women in Lagos” by Vogue and Nigeria’s Favorite Front Row Musician

Adekunle Gold

Musician

Age: 31

CV: 2x Billboard Top 10 World Artist for About30 and Gold

Adebayo

Designer

Age: 28

CV: Designer of Orange Culture

Bai Joiner

Creative Consultant

Age: 24

CV: Creative Consultant for Native Magazine

Eku Edewor

Actress/TV Personality

Age: 31

CV: Host of 53 Extra + plays “Nneka” in Nigeria’s first legal drama, Castle and Castle.

Orire

Designer/Entrepeneur

Age: 28

CV: Designer of Ré Lagos/Owner of Wèré House

Paris, 2018 [Mixed Media]

Partnered with Manual NYC to shoot Paris during Fashion Week on their Highspeed Fujifilm 35mm disposable cameras.

Paris, 2018. shot on Manual.

Paris, 2018. Shot on iPhone 8+

Paris, 2018. Shot on iPhone 8+

Paris, 2018. shot on Manual.

Paris, 2018. Shot on iPhone 8+

Paris, 2018. Shot on iPhone 8+

Pigalle Basketball Court. Paris, 2018. shot on Manual.

Paris, 2018. Shot on iPhone 8+

Paris, 2018. Shot on iPhone 8+

Love of Lisa. Paris, 2018. shot on Manual.

Paris, 2018. Shot on iPhone 8+

 

Lagos, Nigeria, 2018

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PRSA Travel 2018: Minorities in Travel Panel

MINORITIES IN TRAVEL //

I was honored to be brought out to New Orleans to speak at the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Travel Conference on Minorities in Travel and the disparities in minority travel advertising.

>> check out my Instagram Story recap.

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MINORITIES IN TRAVEL:

WHAT TO KNOW:

1.

African Americans spend $50 billion/year on travel. market, and the fastest growing niche travel group. Latino American families spend close to $63 billion/year! But the African American market is poised to take the lead.

2.

As general travel is declining in the US, Black travel is the only market still rising, exponentially. 

3.

Despite that large spending trend, only 2.6% of ALL advertising is even focused on African Americans. We are a largely untapped market, exploring the world on our own fruition, without being sold an itinerary.

4.

For African Americans, travel has always been filled with roadblocks. In the ‘40s to travel safely w/i the US, AAs had to rely on Victor Hugo's “The Negro Traveler’s Green Book” to discern which establishments were black friendly and which were not.

Victor Hugo's “The Negro Traveler’s Green Book”

cartagena, colombia. 2018

#WETRAVELDIFFERENT:

THREE TAKEAWAYS

1. 

Group travel is twice as popular among African-Americans than whites, possibly for  a sense of security in numbers as well as the proliferation of black interest clubs and professional groups

2.

We also travel for different reasons. African Americans travel internationally in search of the diaspora and culture. We love seeking out beautiful pockets of blackness in countries like Greece, Amsterdam, and Colombia.

3.

We travel to attain all different kind of experiences. Some to see other people like them, some to see people who aren’t like them. Some to have fun and see the world, some to find themselves, and some to lose themselves.