#DaArtInU: Celebrating  Michael Okoroagha,  a young Creative Director who thinks he doesn't worth celebrating

#DaArtInU came across this young genius and proposed he is worth Celebrating. His words were "I am young and not a celebrity so I don't deserve the limelight you are honouring me with". We made him realise #DaArtInU celebrates talents and not celebrity.

Thus he opened us to his world....

My names are Michael Okoroagha. I was born in lagos and my education was in lagos as well. 

I am an art director, a blogger and  i do illustrations likes of storyboards for movies,animations, game designs and animation backgrounds.  I also draw comics and i am also a good story teller.

I am from a typical Ibo family of Ebonyi state with a family of Seven,  Six boys and one girl.  I am the last.

I started drawing from child hood.  it all started with reading comics. I was six year old when i saw my first comic book which is Batman and it sparked something in me. I began to draw that i became so fascinated with comics.  In primary school i met some friends who loved art as well so we all came together shared ideas and develop concept though our drawings then were amateurish works  but in time we improved. As we got better i developed more interest in other aspect of art like movies and   animations. I never stopped drawing even in class rooms now i can see where it all led me to, I am working professionally now as a full time artist.

Admitting to challenges, Michael says "of course whatever country you are in as an artist there must be challenges". Growing up taking this art very seriously brought about the challenges i faced which came from my parent and siblings specially from my older brothers, I was strictly made to  read my books all the time instead off drawing but my dad doesn't usually complain about my skills and he encourages me though my dad can also draw but he never took it as a career.

As a professional i also faced the challenges of cost of production, lack of electricity and the government not encouraging the world of art enough by falling blind towards art makes it seems they don't even know it exists. 

He humbly told #DaArtInU " ahhh, I have not really done that much to remember,  most of the jobs I ve done for some studios are still on hold due to some failed investors and most are still on productions",  however I have few credits like Ajebotoons cartoon by Emy which i did most of the background which is also shown on youtube, also storyboards for Standout Naija TV advert for 3dmax media,  Cover arts for Elixir studio, Strike guard comic book,  promotional covers for Arander Entetainment comic characters and a lot of illustrations i ve done in the past that i cant even start to remember the company names #Imaginethat....

#DaArtInU: Any awards so far for this great skill of yours?

                "Naaa no award yet,  the comic and animation industry in Nigeria are still grounded but just hope it get more recognised someday".

" Currently I work with Sporedust Nigeria where i got most of my trainings,  I also run my independent production,  Dreamstorm Media which i will be lunching some of its e books titles and graphic novels later this year..but i still freelance attimes...


#DaArtInU: What or Who influenced your talent?

                  "hmmm, i was influenced by Jim Lee comic arts on batman and superman comic and his art on most of the image comic titles, also on Marvels StanLee the great, his success story is inspiring. Walt Disney death was a great blow of influence on me" .

Michael told #DaArtInU that he would have succumbed to playing  football or probably continue his acting carrier,  which of course he is still working on if he wasn't a creative director. 

#DaArtInU : Asking him of one thing he would rather have of life if given an option...

                 "hmmmm thats a good question..i will probably bring the dead back to life. You know what i meant.  Llife is precious..looolzz".


Celebrities he would love to have dinner with are Stanley, comic book creator;  Keanu Reeves,hollywood actor; Genneviev Nanji, nollywood actress; James Cameroon,producer and director; Szack Snyder..director and  producer

#DaArtInU: Happiest day in his life so far....

                  "hmmm years back when Ayodele Elegba of Elixir studio decided to hire me for his strike guard comic book cover and also the moment i got an offer to work with Sporedust Media which is the most recognised animation studio in Nigeria..i was very excited".

#DaArtInU: and saddest day...

                   "Aww men,hard to tell. Hmmm when i was in the middle of a PROJECT and the news came to me,that my father has passed away...I hardly have time for family and friends, that saddened me".

#DaArtInU: What would you like to be remembered for?

                    "A great Mentor of hope and inspiration for up coming artist".

#DaArtInU: So who is the woman behind Michael Okoroagha?

                     "Come on,am still very young and not married yet".

#DaArtInU *winks*" Teasing him could be such fun....

Connect with Michael Okoroagha on www.facebook.com/michaelokoroagha

#LifeWithPriya: Quest to make Priyanka Suryaneni a successful Filmmaker in Bollywood...

My love for exploring new things, people, culture and travel naturally set me rolling on the path of film-making.   Realizing this at an early age gave me the opportunity to be formally educated in mass media and video/film production.

After trying my hands at assisting and working for various production houses or projects, I took a leap of faith and started Pensar creations, my very own production house. 

I was instantly blessed with a right team of professionals that have been strong pillars in executing various projects under my banner.

Today we are confident that we can successfully handle a project of any size or budget.

It is now time for us to ahead and position the company in the right manner to get the right visibility and good projects.

At this point I came across the Cherie Blaire foundation for women that helps women entrepreneurs like me in understanding how to be financially and commercially successful with your business. I instantly applied and was lucky enough to be matched with Mariam, a successful film maker from Nigeria.

Under her guidance I hope to be able to take Pensar to newer heights. The aim is not only to double my turnover but be able to work on better projects and make my dream come true!

Having being elected as a Business Mentor with Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in Business has been a great privilege so far...

Cherie Blair Foundation bridges the gap of gender Inequality by contributing to the lives of young women all over the world. Encouraging Entrepreneurship to build a world of hope and aspirations.

My quest for the next one year is to make Priyanka Suryaneni a successful and recognized filmmaker in Bollywood. Having to be paired with Priya as I called her is an honor,  for my second home is India.

To encourage every young woman in India and all over the world,  Priyanka and I decided to share her mentoring experience weekly.

We believe through this medium, we can touch lives of women in different aspects of entrepreneurship and help build their businesses.

This week, these are the tasks levied on Priyanka. The aim of these tasks is for Priya to get a clear view of what her company stands for.

Task Week 1: DEFINE YOUR COMPANY


What is the idea behind your company?
What problem is the idea behind your company trying to solve in your society?
What is the cause of the problem in your community ?
What are the symptoms of the problem in your community?
Who are your potential clients with this problem?
Describe existing solutions to the idea behind your company , and how they are insufficient to address the problem.
In what ways are these problems insufficient?
What facets of the problem do these other solutions ignore?
Are any of the facets that other problems ignore essential for you to focus on while you attempt to solve this problem?
Are any of the facets that other problems ignore also things that you will choose to not address?
Consider the strengths of existing solutions, and think about how these may inspire your own solution development.
Write down your solution in no more than three sentence, referencing the problem statement you made earlier.
Describe what is new about your solution, and how it is different from other products or services
Conduct additional research and fact-finding to answer difficult questions that have come to your mind.
What additional information do you need to discover with existing companies with same ideas as yours that you haven't?
What is the Value Proposition of your company?
What are the the Key Activities it will engage in?
Who are your target Customers?

To join the mentorship,  send a mail to princess.m.adams@live.com  with subject "Life with Priya" ...

Wishing Priya all the best as she starts her quest.... We rep #CherieBlairFoundation

#DaArtInU: Celebrating Bob-Nosa Uwagboe, an artist with a strange touch of art yet speaks volume...

Bob-Nosa-Nosa Uwagboe was born in 1974 in the ancient city of Benin kingdom, rich in cultural and artistic heritage. Edo state.

                      " l grew up seeing myself doing  Art even when my late dad was not in support of it but I kept on with the journey."

In pursuing his dream,  Bob received his professional education at the famous colorist school, Auchi Polytechnic

Auchi, Edo state where he graduated and specialized in painting.

Bob-Nosa as he is fondly called, retired immediately to full-time studio practice after his one year mandatory service to the nation as a member of the national youth service corp (NYSC) at Abuja.

He relocated to Lagos to set up The Protest Art Studio to explore his creative energy into an experimental path that has

resulted into thought provoking themes and often times spark of anger, pain, passion and vision that are not often defined by the subject matters and defy the border usually set by artistic canons. 

 Bob-Nosa employs diverse materials seemingly unconnected at first to evoke emotions with his art, he often succeed in challenging the audience to deeper engagement with his work from which there are varied interpretation and reflection mostly concerned with issues of falsehood, deception, bad leadership and reaching to the unreached.

                       "The poor leadership in Africa and high level of inhumanity practices among men that has become the norm is my primary interest in art,  Which I interpret  either offensively or defensively. My art is a puzzle, magical and consuming to my viewers. My creative process is a moment of calmness, anger, pain, passion, therapeutic and evoking emotion in which I employ diverse materials such as  my used fabric, my hair, sand, papers, sack, rope, acrylic, spray paint, crayon, charcoal, oil paint on canvas or board and this process is a moment of total surrender to my will power and opening up my soul as a channel where good ideas pass through and the result is of human significance and with global validity.

                             I don’t pre-destine my art process, these might circumscribe my creative effort and jeopardize creativity."

Bob-Nosa Uwagboe shocked the art public in 2009 in his show “Recent works by bob-nosa” held at the pan African university in Lagos with originality and strength of his voice.

#DaArtInU : With your kind of art,  bet there has been challenges  overtime till now...

               " Yes, the challenges have been ‘Acceptance” which I still suffer till date and I hope to overcome with the spirit of persistence and patience."


#DaArtInU: Who or What has a great influence on you?

                                   " My greatest influence has been the poor leadership in Africa, which gave birth to me establishing the Protest Art Studio. Because I strongly believe that Art can be used to change a society to start thinking in the right direction most especially like in a society where corruption stand tall."

#DaArtInU: If you could be or do anything in the past,What will that be?

                                    " It will still be the Art "



#DaArtInU: What has been the saddest moment of your life where your talent is connected?

                               

     " The saddest moment of my career is still very fresh and unforgettable in my mind. This moment is between October 2014 and January 2015,In this period, the spirit of death visited my family back to back to take away my mother and father. It was a tragedy, great lost, painful moment which affected my creativity greatly. In this moment of grief and mourning, I had to put my practice on hold for 4months which had never happened  in my art practice. After which I had to go through a mental rehabilitation so as to come out safe. Out of this moment of mental rehabilitation, gave birth to a pool of amazing body of work which am using to pay tribute to the soul of the faithful departed who has transcend to a higher level.


#DaArtInU: What has been the happiest moment of your life where your talent is connected?
                       

       " The happiest moment was when I had an International Exhibition (The last picture show)in Cameroon 2010 which was a sold out. It was a moment of victory over rejection for me. My persistence actually paid off and I became more courageous in my pursuit as a protest artist."

#DaArtInU: How would you like to be remembered?

                                 

      " I would like to be remembered as an artist and a humanitarian."


Bob-nosa works have been on display at the following exhibitions...



SELECTED EXHIBITION
-   Lagos State Council for Art and Culture Art Exhibition for Nigeria Artist;
2001, Lagos.
- Edo state council for Art and Culture, Edo State Sports Festival Art Exhibition; 2002 (Oba Ekenzua Cultural Centre, Benin City).
- Treasure of our time, Pendulum Art Gallery, Lagos; 2001.
- Beyond Figuration by Omenka Gallery, Lagos; 2009
- French Women Association Lagos Art Exhibition at African Artist Foundation (AAF); 2009.
- The Last Picture Show V.I. / Maison Du parti Douala; 2009

Collocation 5 Art Exhibition, Though Pyramid Art Centre; 2009, Abuja.

1.  Art Basel Miami Art Fair ,Maimi (U.S.A) 2012
2 . The Last Picture Show- Le Meridien Cameroon 2011
3 .The Last Picture Show- La Galeric Vendome Paris
4. Cora Art Festival  2011 “Do not resuscitate”   Freedom Park.  Lagos
5 .The Children of the World -   German Cultural Centre Lagos 2012
6. Thought Pyramid Art Gallery Abuja  - Generational  Statement 2011
7. Thought Pyramid Art Gallery Abuja. Collocation 5.   2009
8. The Last Picture Show 2009 Muson du Parti. Douala Cameroon.
9. Nigeria Now Present New Works by Ayoola Gbolahan and Bob-Nosa Uwagboe. Abuja       2012
10. World Bank Art Exhibition (group) Abuja. 2013

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
1.      Recent works by Bob-Nosa Uwagboe (2009).  Pan-African University.Lagos
2.      Homme Libre-  African Artist Foundation Lagos (2001)

 Bob-nosa is married to Bawo-Okoro Uwagboe and  blessed with a son Osarenkhoe Nosa Uwagboe. 

Bob-nosa arts can be found in many respectable public and private collections both in Nigeria and Aboard and have shown in different important exhibition worldwide. 



To connect with Bob-Nosa
www.bobnosaart.com
bobnub@yahoo.com
+2348038251888

#KidsCo:  CRAIG MIND READING COMPETITION for Children ages 7 to 19yrs


 

   
           "It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations, that will also help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own”

The quality of a nation’s leadership is determined from its roots. If children are the future of any nation therefore, for a nation to be great, its children must be groomed to achieve and aspire to greatness.  

Setting the right foundation grounded on cultivating a reading culture, which opens up the mind of the child to the immense opportunities found beyond their immediate world is the key to making Nigeria a great nation. 

In this vein, Craig mind Internationalwe presents THE 2ND EDITION OF THE CRAIG MIND READING COMPETITION with the Theme –   “LET OUR CHILDREN READ”

Craig mind International is an Education and knowledge-based firm whose core objective is to create educational content that are cerebrally stimulating. 

The Book reading competition project is one of our educational programs focused on improving the reading culture of young people through a reward scheme.

                     "In our own bid to inspire and promote the reading culture of the African youth and as part of our project plan for 2015, we are working with the schools from the Agege Local Government Area for the 2015 book reading competition". 

The 2014 reading competition was an amazing experience. We worked with four communities with over six schools represented. 

The student read NLNG (Nigeria Liquefied and Natural Gas) Award winning Author Ayodele Olofintuades New book “The Mask” 

In the end, three winners emerged.  The 2014 winners were:

12 year old Eze  chiamaka, from  Taofeek college lagos, 

10 year old Ugwu  Adanna from MD Primary school Lagos, 

14 year old Joy Hillary Of Tola Comprehensive college Lagos

THE COMPETITION 

The 2015 Reading Competition will feature (3)three Nigerian A-List authors, ten(10)communities under the Agege Local Government area and its environs with over twenty (20)  schools in participation.

The Craig Mind Reading Competition is been divided into three categories.

Category 1: Primary 4 – Primary 6 (7-10 years)

Category 2: JSS 1 – JSS3  (11yrs – 14years)

Category 3: SS 1 – SS 3 (15years – 19years)

Books to be read include:

First category:  The Brave Taxi Driver 

“Her book came runner up in the NLNG category for children’s books 2010.

Second category: The Great fall” by Chinyere Obi.

              The book won the NLNG Award in her category for children’s book in 2010.

Third category: Okechukwu  Ofilli’s third book “How Intelligence Kills” 

               He is the owner of the pioneer online mobile book store in Africa, Okada Books.

CRITERIA TO APPLY 

To apply, registration coordination must be spearheaded by the Literature teachers or school representative. 

Participants are expected to register for the competition under their school umbrella. 

The project mechanics stipulates that students will read and summarize the books within their categories in 150 words and submit to their teachers on or before June 15th 2015. 

The competition date is scheduled for Thursday June 25th 2015.

                    "Success to Craig Mind means bringing back the reading culture to the identified age bracket in Africa through a targeted grassroots effort using the schools as touch points". 

To get the buy-in and enthusiastic corporation of the Literature Teacher in each school, each teacher with the winning school will be rewarded financially and recognized for the effort put in preparing their students for the competition.

JUDGES PROFILE

Okechukwu Ofilli: Author: “How Intelligence Kills”

Okechukwu has written three books “How intelligence kills” is his third book. He is a leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources in education. He runs the popular blog ofilispeaks.com. 

He is also a script writer on the BBC weekly What's Up Africa Show and his writings have appeared on several publications including bellanaija.com, ynaija.com, Thisday Newspaper.

In addition to writing and speaking, Okechukwu is the founder/owner of okadabooks.com, a fast growing and easy-to-use mobile book reading app (MTN 2013 app of the year) for the African market.

Chinyere Obi- Obasi: Author Children’s book “The Great Fall”

Chinyere Iwuala Obi-Obasi was called to the Nigerian bar in 1993. She works with Unity Bank, Plc, and has written two children’s books (Brave Driver and The Faithful Dog), with many of her short stories appearing in anthologies, magazines and newspapers. She is a member of the Abuja Literary Society and Association of Nigerian Authors and married with children.

Chibundu Onuzo  : Author “The Spider Kings Daughter” 

Chibundu Onuzo’s first book The Spider King was published in London at 21 she is one of Africa’s youngest female authors her book has been up for several nominations in the U.K  as she has been compared to the Likes of chimamanda Ngozi Adichie but in her own words  they both have different world views Chibundu is a  role model to young people who looks up to her 

Ambrose Adole :  He is an astute reader with a passion for mind building for young people through reading. He is an entrepreneur, a community developer. He won the 2014 Shell live wire Award Lagos maiden edition. As a change agent Ambrose believes in the new Nigeria and shares his time treasure and talent to make this dream a reality He was a judge in our maiden edition.

Bianca Onu:  Bianca Is a Lawyer who’s Interest in education and kids endeared her to volunteer her time on this project: she was a judge in our maiden competition

Daniel Okwa:  He is a climate change advocate and a recipient of the Climate reality project leadership training leadership scholarship by former United states President Algore. Daniel was a judge in our first event.

PRIZES

1st Prize 

Winner goes home with N30,000  cash N50, 000 book voucher to equip his\her schools book Library. 

The English teacher would be rewarded for work done.

2nd Prize 

Winner goes home with 20,000 cash Prize and N30,000 worth of books to equip his\her book Library 

The English teacher would be rewarded for work done.

3rd Prize 

Winner goes home with Board  games from Best man Games N20,000 for Library project 

 Teacher  would be rewarded for work done  

In this competition, everyone is a winner! Each registered participant who submitted a book summary will also be awarded with a plaque of participation.

It is  our belief that  this singular act of beign part of this project would go a long way in bringing back reading among younger generation who as it stands presently have a legion of activities begging for their attention and in the long run  demystify the thought that the average African would Never read a book  hence the popular saying “If you want to hide something from a black man put it in a book…”

Enquiries to register your School, call 07060528290, 07030137398, or look up our website  "http://www.crigmind.org" www.crigmind.org for further information

#HamazonACADEMIA: HamazonACADEMlA celebrates greater height...

HamazonACADEMlA has officially taken another step to greater height of business success for being recognized as one of #TEEP2015.

The Academy offers educational programmes that teaches thorough practical experience and high-level mentorship, the skills needed to succeed in Filmmaking incorporating Business and Media literacy.

The motivation behind creating HamazonACADEMlA was simple 'Africans have talents of great virtue that needs to be nurtured so they can take their place and add their voices to encourage Entrepreneurship.

HamazonACADEMlA  was established by Indian trained Programmer, Filmmaker and Business Consultant Princess  Adams.

                      "I am a consultant that believes in dreams and talents...I take every little opportunity to make impact with my teachings and consultation. Encouraging dreams has lead me to meeting with many young minds with great mindset and ideas that could rule the word however in line of duties these individuals are undervalued, underskilled and underpaid, most with the desire to travel abroad to get that advanced studies but unsuccessful with such plans. Everyone needs a push and that push is what i do mostly with the words of my mouth, words i write and consultation skills which led to the creation of HamazonACADEMlA".

Research conducted shows most of these talents lack the vital skills needed to turn their talents into an outcome or product that empowers them to have a financially sustainable and meaningful career – skills such as professional studio techniques, high-level Filmmaking craft and an understanding of the local and global industry context thus HamazonACADEMlA  focuses on making an impact in this aspect.

In order to make their mark in Filmmaking industry - one of the most competitive industries in the world - these talents must be equipped with know-how and experience in a studio and performance environment and have access to world-class Filmmaking mentorship and facilities that will guide them to a point where they are ready to compete with the best in the world, HamazonACADEMlA takes this cause a notch higher  by placing her students on internship of 3-6 months and employment  with private and international Filmmaking Organizations.

                    "Our students mean a lot to us. It is not only about the trainings we render to them but all about them 'Are they quite acquainted with what they have learnt? ', 'Are they ready to stand on their feet and take the bait of responsibility for their lives? '. With these questions,  we set them to the test of internship,  some have fallen, some are still standing and some are already spreading their wings. We can only impact and push to a certain  level but they make the choice to succeed or give up trying".

HamazonACADEMlA  cuts across borders as her doors are open for international students hoping to come to Nigeria for studies in Filmmaking.

                        "We have had enquiries and attendees from Ghana and other Africans countries. In so near future, we hope to launch the online learning platform to encourage more participants from other countries" .

HamazonACADEMlA offers Certificate and Diploma Courses in Filmmaking,  we operate with curriculum for these five main groups: Corporate Learning Group(CLG),  Skills and Careers Group (SCG), School Learning Group (SLG), Open Door Group (ODG ) and Master Lab Group (MLG).

Think HamazonACADEMlA Think hands-on experience...

To join the Open Lab for the month of June, contact us via the underlisted..

Enquiries: Watspp +2348126989955
                      Cc         +2347044852899
        Bbm  Channel  C00179D1C

#Upclose: That which makes you exceptional...

It is not about the fight...
Nor about the race...
It is about what makes you exceptional that makes you worthy of the fight...
It is that which makes you exceptional that wins the race ahead..
It is also that which lies in you that makes you stand out among peers...

Don't be afraid to take a step into what you so believe in...
A step taken is a step nearer to breakthrough...
A step taken is a step closer to more opportunities and openings...
A step taken is a step closer to deducing who you really are and what you stand for...

As ridicule as you might think of what makes you exceptional,
Remember someone out there crave for such uniqueness...

Duely  believe in yourself...
Look inwardly...

#BeInspired #Bemotivated

The roads one can not say are easy paths but the grace is abundant..

Happy New Month...

@princesadams