TCN Monthly Recap: The Maiden Edition
Introducing TCN Monthly Recap, a monthly recap of stories—news, events, opportunities, resources, insights, opinions and conversations—we publish during the month and other recommended stories
Hi, I hope this meets you well.
Today is the last day of January already. When did the year start? Some will argue this month had 75 days. Irrespective of what you think about January, it is interesting to see it come to an end. I hope your year is off to a good start!
If you recall, in the 2023 Recap post, I wrote;
“Lastly, in the coming weeks, we will be launching a Monthly Newsletter. It will cover the big stories and events across the African creative industry so that you can easily catch up on anything you might have missed during the month.”
The time has come. I am excited to introduce TCN Monthly Recap, our latest section on The Creatives Note. As the name implies, TCN Monthly Recap is going to be a monthly recap of stories—news, events, opportunities, resources, insights, opinions and conversations—we publish during the month. It is also going to contain interesting reads and recommended stories to catch up on things happening in the African creative industry across art, design, and film.
Welcome to the very first edition of TCN Monthly Recap. In this edition, you will find: A Conversation with Tunji Ogunoye; A New Guinness World Record for the Longest Painting Marathon after a Decade; Make the Move: Strategies for Selling Digital Art and Merchandise; A refreshed Identity for Anchor, a Nigerian Banking-as-a-service Company; The 3D Billboard Challenge winners; and recommended reads.
A Conversation with Tunji Ogunoye
Check out our interview with Tunji Ogunoye, design partner at FourthCanvas and founder of DearDesigner, a community for design and designers in Nigeria, and Africa.
In this interview, you will discover what led Tunji, a trained physiotherapist, to design. You will also find out how he got started, why he left a career in physiotherapy for design, the challenges he faces as a designer and how he navigates them, his favourite projects so far, his inspiration and a lot more.
A New Guinness World Record for the Longest Painting Marathon after a Decade
What do you care about a Guinness World Record? Well, tell that to Chancellor Ahaghotu, a Nigerian art student who broke a decade-old record for the longest painting marathon.
Find out how Ahaghotu's relentlessness in painting for 100 hours to make over a hundred paintings boosted his global recognition as he clinched the new record for the longest painting marathon.
Make the Move: Strategies for Selling Digital Art and Merchandise
Did you miss the conversation on strategies for selling digital art and merchandise that happened on January 19th? Don’t worry, we got you covered.
The quick gist is that Lagos Meet, a community of creative professionals in Lagos, in collaboration with Framegidi, hosted its very first live talk for the year on X (formerly Twitter). The talk was for anyone interested in listening and contributing to the conversation on strategies on how to create and sell their digital creation in the form of art or merchandise.
Speakers in the live talk session included Nteoniro Bertram, the Head of Growth and Partnerships at Framegidi, and Henry Domo-Spiff, the Head of Design at WiiCreate. Find more details on how to catch the recap of the conversation on X (formerly Twitter).
A refreshed Identity for Anchor, the Nigerian Banking-as-a-service Company
Earlier in the month, Anchor, the Nigerian Banking-as-a-service company, unveiled a refreshed identity—a new typeface, colour system, and website—in a move to harmonise its visual identity across all its brand touchpoints.
“We noticed a disconnect in the visual representation of Anchor across different brand touchpoints,” Ibrahim Otukoya, brand designer at Anchor told The Creatives Note. “The first thing I did was try to harmonise the colours but eventually, the conversation ended in us needing to do a visual refresh.”
Once the decision on the new visual direction was made, the Anchor team brought on CheckDC to work with them on the website. Read the full details of the visual refresh by Anchor.
The 3D Billboard Challenge Winners
Following the participation of over 200 3D designers in the 3D Billboard Challenge, Lagos Meet announced the conclusion—and winners—of its 3D Billboard Challenge.
In what is a partnership with Alphaandjam, Unreal Engine, Meta, and the Lagos State Council for Arts & Culture, the 3D Billboard Challenge not only showcased Nigeria's incredible 3D design talent, it also created a platform for collaboration, skill development, and cultural expression
Find out the details of the contest and the top 3 winning entries that went home with $3k, $2k, and $1k respectively in prize money.
The Goethe-Institut Nigeria open call for applications for Support and Connect 2024
Do you know that the Goethe-Institut Nigeria is accepting applications for the 2024 edition of its Support and Connect Initiative? Now you know.
The Support and Connect Initiative is a program through which Goethe-Institut Nigeria supports Nigerian solo artists, collectives, and cultural experts in implementing their projects across various art forms: music, contemporary dance, photography, films (documentary), theatre, visual arts, literature and many more.
Application Deadline: 15th February, 2024.
You missed: The Goethe-Institut Nairobi open call for the inaugural Sasa Nairobi Artist Fellowship [Application closed on 28th January 2024].
Recommended reading
After hiring lots of staff and signing at least four partnerships with local production studios when it landed in Africa in December 2021, Prime Video is cutting funding in Africa and the Middle East in favour of focusing on European Originals.
Check out the conversation with Tobi Efunnowo of Studio Unruly, a creative powerhouse merging cultural authenticity with global innovation.
It's a common belief that ‘creative’ people tend to be more isolated than people in other fields/professions. However, like every human being, creative people crave human connection and interaction. Find out ways you can build meaningful relationships as a creative.
That will be all for this month. Thank you for reading.
We wish you a HAPPY NEW MONTH in advance. February is the month of love, so we wish you a month full of love and gifts. Remember to send a thoughtful gift to your loved ones.
See you next month. Until then, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to stay up to date.
Written by Ojo A. Omobolade
Edited by Tunmise Afape