TCN Monthly Recap: September 2024 Edition
Here's a recap of the stories—news, events, opportunities, resources, insights, opinions and conversations—we published in September and some other recommended stories for you
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As you may already know (and for those who are new here), every month we bring you TCN Monthly Recap; a recap of all the exciting stories—news, events, opportunities, resources, insights, opinions and conversations—we published all through the month. We also share interesting reads and recommended stories at the end. Watch out!
In this edition of TCN Monthly Recap, you will find;
UDC 2024: A showcase and celebration of African contemporary design and creativity
Relio Studios announces BreakTunes, an animated series designed to address critical issues children face today in society
Design Week Lagos returns this October for the 2024 edition of its annual festival
Founders Factory Africa rebrands as 54 Collective to reflect its pan-African aspiration
Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy reveals members of the Advisory Committee of the Nigerian Web Design Standard (NWDS) project
Prince Claus Fund reveals the 100 recipients of its 2024 SEED Award
Nigerian musician Cruel Santino's latest project is a manga which builds on the Subaru Boys story arc
Meet the Nigerian Web Design Standard (NWDS) Advisory Committee Members
UDC 2024: A showcase and celebration of African contemporary design and creativity
In August, the third edition of Untitled Designers Conference (UDC), one of Africa’s biggest design conferences, was held in Lagos, Nigeria.
The conference, which was originally slated to hold in May, was rescheduled to August due to “unforeseen circumstances and a desire to ensure the event's full potential,” according to Untitled Designers, the organiser of the conference.
For The Creatives Note, Akinwunmi Popoola writes about his experience and shares his thoughts on the two-day event which brought together some of Africa’s leading creative, talented and innovative individuals.
Relio Studios announces BreakTunes, an animated series designed to address critical issues children face today in society
Relio Studios, an animation studio focused on telling impactful stories, announced BreakTunes, an animated series designed to address the critical issues that children face today in society—starting with child sexual abuse awareness.
BreakTunes is Relio Studios’ flagship 3D animation with original music and characters to produce diverse and inclusive content for its audiences across the globe.
According to Esosa Asabor, the creator of BreakTunes, the project was borne out of the need to encourage children to speak up and seek help when the need arises.
Design Week Lagos to return this October for the 2024 edition of its annual festival
Design Week Lagos (DWL), one of the most prominent international design festivals in Africa, has confirmed it will return this October for the 2024 edition of its annual festival.
From October 23rd to 27th, 2024 at Livespot Entertainment Center, 4 Oba Elegushi Beach Road Lekki, this year’s Design Week Lagos will explore the theme, ‘The Role of Design in Economic Evolution.’
Since its inception in 2019, the festival has partnered with over 250 events throughout the city, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and contemporary design practices of the region.
Founders Factory Africa rebrands as 54 Collective to reflect its pan-African aspiration
In August, South Africa-based startup accelerator, Founders Factory Africa, announced it is rebranding as 54 Collective, a venture capital (VC) firm, in a move that signifies a strategic evolution aimed at amplifying support for African entrepreneurs and fostering a continent-wide impact.
Founded in 2018, Founders Factory Africa, now 54 Collective, began as a corporate-backed model and has invested in over 70 start-ups across the continent, with more than one-third of its investments in Kenya, according to Bongani Sithole, CEO of 54 Collective.
The name 54 Collective is a nod to the 54 countries that make up Africa, reflecting the pan-African aspiration of the firm, Sithole noted. “Collective signifies the collaborative way that our experienced local teams of venture specialists and experts work with founders,” he explained.
Read Also: dot.ateliers announces open call for its 2025 Artist Residency in Accra, Ghana
Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy reveals members of the Advisory Committee of the Nigerian Web Design Standard (NWDS) project
In September, Dr. Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, revealed the members of the Advisory Committee of the Nigerian Web Design Standard (NWDS) project, a project aimed at creating a set of standardised design principles, frameworks, and guidelines for all government websites.
The members of the Advisory Committee of the Nigerian Web Design Standard (NWDS) project will help create a set of standardised design principles, frameworks, & guidelines for all government websites.
Prince Claus Fund reveals the 100 recipients of its 2024 SEED Award
Last month, The Prince Claus Fund, an independent foundation founded in 1996 as a tribute to HRH Prince Claus’s unwavering dedication to culture and development, announced the 2024 recipients of its SEED Award, a €5,000 prize for creatives to freely invest in their practice, alongside global recognition, connections, and opportunities.
The SEED Award, a €5,000 prize awarded annually, recognises 100 emerging talents and offers support to creative work that engages with urgent socio-political issues within their local context.
According to the list, 32 of the 100 recipients are from Africa—spread across 22 countries. Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco, with three representatives each, had the most representation among the African countries represented on the list.
Nigerian musician Cruel Santino's latest project is a manga which builds on the Subaru Boys story arc
Last month, Nigerian musician Cruel Santino announced his latest project—a manga named Subaru Boys: Flowers of the First Orcad - Volume One, nine months after first teasing the public in an Instagram post last December.
In his last (2022) studio album titled “Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN,” Cruel Santino combined elements of alternative afrobeats, grime, R&B, bedroom pop and more, to evoke the feeling of a futuristic, underwater world—which he described to Billboard as a place where wardens, known as “Subaru Boys” (an anime-style creation) - are enlisted to carry out gritty tasks on behalf of the fictional government.
“I know this isn't the first manga made by Nigerians and I know there is a growing community here of dreamers and creators looking for progressive ways to tell stories and push the boundaries of media through animation and other mediums,” Santino shared.
Meet the Nigerian Web Design Standard (NWDS) Advisory Committee Members
Last month, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, revealed the members of the Advisory Committee of the Nigerian Web Design Standard (NWDS) project.
The advisory committee—made up of Kene Udeze, Ibrahim Bashir, Mitchelle Chibundu, and Clive Ayonye—is tasked with creating a visual style that will offer a unique and user-friendly design for Nigerian websites and digital assets, allowing for consistency across multiple touch points.
Recommended reading
Next Narrative Africa, a Nigerian media production company, and HEVA Fund, a Kenyan-based investment firm, have launched a fund for African filmmakers. The $40 million Next Narrative Africa Fund will invest in movies with budgets between $1 and 5 million per project, taking equity in some movies it funds. In other cases, it will simply provide grants.
For the rest of the year, Lagos Meet will be showcasing projects from talented Nigerian creators, from art and industrial design to software development projects. What we really want to show is how Nigerian creatives contribute to both local and international projects.
The once-thriving industry has been plagued with structural and financial difficulties, with emerging filmmakers finding it increasingly hard to break through.
A conversation with Jabulani Sigege and Roderick Laka of Machine_ on using creativity and insights to create solutions for businesses
Jabulani Sigege (Executive Creative Director) and Roderick Laka (Creative Group Head - Art) of Machine_, an award-winning creative-solutions agency with over 100 people based in Cape Town and Johannesburg, talk about using creativity and insights to create solutions for businesses.
“I am a documentary photographer and visual storyteller. Photography is a way of expression for me. I have this strong conviction about creativity. I believe creativity is a tool for social change.”
That will be all for September recap. Thank you for reading. And Happy New Month!
We enjoyed bringing you these updates and putting this recap together. See you this time next month. Until then, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to stay up to date.
