Awards and Beauty Shows!

The past week has been a bit busy for Proud to be African Clothing to say the least but has seen a really great period of trading, networking, meeting inspirational people within the African diaspora and beyond, with the coming cold months seeing the hoodys and sweatshirts outselling T shirts for the first time.

Between the 18^th and the 21^st we had a stall all day at the Albany Theatre in Deptford as part of the Where are we now? Nigeria Heritage Festival, a collaboration between the amazing young Nigerian playwright Bola Agbaje and the Stone Crabs Theatre Company. In addition to the African market which had yours truly Proud to be African Clothing, Monsura Bags, Yorubatik, Ugo, AyoDele Edwards etc there were different events each evening. Tuesday the 18^th was the launch event with the launch of the documentary ‘From Biafra to England’ which was an oral history record of the lives of survivors and veterans of the Biafran war who had emigrated from Nigeria to the UK. This oversubscribed event had delicious food by So-Full Catering Service and a lively panel discussion with which was heated quite and elicited much debate. Wednesday had performances of Bola Agbaje’s new play ‘The Burial’ and Thursday another play ‘Dilemma of A Ghost’ by Ama Ata Aidoo. Friday evening saw the grand finale with monologues by various actors depicting characters from Nigeria’s history from the learned (Wole Soyinka), to the famous (Fela), to the infamous (IBB!). The actor playing IBB stole the show with a barnstorming comedic performance. Interspersing all of these was AyoDele Edwards singing with 3 backing musicians, a selection of beautifully rendered numbers in Yoruba and English, ending with the late Christy Essien Ibgokwe  classic ‘Seun rere’

Friday and Saturday also saw the ‘Best of Nigeria Expo’ at the Excel Centre. This expo was held to highlight the non oil producing sector of Nigeria’s economy. Although there were not as many visitors as the venue deserved there was still a lively cross section of people visiting and exhibiting, with Proud to be African Clothing making a few new friends. Unfortunately my camera decided to die around this time so no photos.

Sunday saw two groovy events, the first being the Africa Rocks Expo at Hotel Russell, Russell Square, a fascinating extravaganza organised by Chinelle and Amaechi of the The Creative Initiative. The event consisted of seminars as well as performances by the London Afrobeat Collective (although they didn’t perform my favourite track from their album despite repeated requests and veiled threats!!) and a spectacular fashion show by Nikki Garriques, featuring yours truly’s creations!

It was graced by luminaries of the African diaspora such as British/ Nigerian sprinter Christine Ohuruogu, Edna Agbarha of Apprentice Season 7, Rachel Adedeji of X Factor to name but a few.

The Africa Rocks Expo was a first effort by the duo behind the Creative Initiative and was an excellent, well organised and patronised event. It was one of the few events I’ve attended in a while in which everything came together for exhibitors, performers and patrons.

I know we will be seeing more and more of them in future, hopefully they won’t notice me holding onto their coat tails as they fly to the top!!

I rounded the day off at the Bronze Bar, with Vocal Slender of BBC3 Welcome to Lagos fame, where he discussed his life experiences and motivations with host Lola Ogunbadejo and then performed his signature track ‘Owo Yapa’.

This week has been a lot quieter however another groovy weekend beckons.

On Friday Proud to Be African Clothing’s favourite jazz artist will be performing tracks from his new album Orin Meta at the Forge, Camden.

Saturday sees the Miss Nubian UK Grand Finale, a pageant with a difference where talented and beautiful ladies of African Caribbean heritage will be representing their countries of origin and demonstrating their talents as well as their beauty. This prestigious event takes place at the Thistle Hotel, Bryanston Street, Marble Arch, W1H 7EH, doors open 6.30pm. The after party will feature DJ Deoba Authentic so generally it will be an excellent evening.

On the same evening Proud to be African Clothing will be doing its best Oscar hopeful imitation as we have been nominated for our first ever award, the New Business Award by the Black Business Initiative!

The Black Business Initiative is a business support organisation and publishes the Ethno News Magazine as well. The 8^th Black Business Awards show will be held at Hilton Tower Bridge, 5 More London, Tooley Street, SE1 2BY. This Black tie gala event  seeks to promote, sustain and reward entrepreneurship within the black ethnic community.

This Saturday will also see Focus organisation’s Afrodite event at ZarZar’s in Stratford, so if your not at Miss Nubian or the BBI Awards get over to grove with Atta, Victoria, DJ’s Bogossy, KMT, Oya-Bun and Freshfrenchy.

We’ll let you know if we win!

October-Upcoming events, shows and groovinesses-continued

This weekend has been a bit of an up and down for Proud to be African Clothing one with tons of events and no sleep, T shirts and sweat shirts getting sold and the Nigerian Carnival UK although not as packed as one would have wanted was a great culture fest where I met many cool people and had a generally groovy time. 

The ICSN Iri Ji festival did not disappoint in terms of fine fine girls so despite having to brave the night bus from Camden it was worth it.

Next week is equally jam packed with the “Where are we now? Nigeria Heritage Festival” at the Albany Theatre, Deptford produced by the celebrated young Nigerian playwright Bola Agbaje in association with StoneCrabs Theatre. This is advertised as festival of theatre, film, music, fashion and all things Nigerian!  A tagline which gladdens my soul!

This week long festival runs from October 18^th- 20^th from 9.30am till 4pm and consists of documentaries, plays, spoken word, fashion shows and an authentic African market (authentic doesn't mean you start haggling when you come to my store!).

Also at the Stephen Lawrence Centre, 21 Brookmill Road, SE8 4HU on Tuesday the 18^th there will be a Black History Month panel Q&A.

The Best of Nigeria Expo at the Excel Centre showcasing Nigeria’s non oil sectors on Friday the 21^st and Saturday the 22^nd with all manner of groovy things such as seminars, kids zones, dances, comedians, fashion shows etc but no discernable way to buy tickets that I can find!

Rounding up the week will be the AfricanMusic Festival (AMFest) taking place on Saturday 22^nd at 4a Roach Road, Hackney Wick, E3 2PA, this celebration of African music and culture will have a salivating assortment of music, food, dance, comedy, poetry, fashion shows, Afro hair/ beauty shows, film screenings, creative workshops and so on. In other words alot, as well as the opportunity to get all your lovely Proud to be African Clothes from me!

Finally on Sunday 23^rd the Africa Rocks Expo takes place at Hotel Russell, 1-8 Russell Square, WC1B 5B from 11am to 7pm, this is a new one day event that hopes to encourage people in the UK to see Africa differently and showcase Africa through a combination of seminars, networking opportunities, fashion shows, comedy shows and cultural activities. This year’s focus is Nigeria (ha!).

A full jam packed period coming up as you can see, hopefully you’ll pop by to one or two of them and say hi!

October-Upcoming events, shows and groovinesses

Lots of things going on in the PTBA universe this week

Cara Titilayo Harshman

On Friday 14^th I’ll be heading to the Yoruba HeritageAwards, being held at The Lighthouse Hall, 262-274 Camberwell Rd, SE5 0D, an annual event that promises many high profile visitors and multiple entertainments, I’m particularly looking forward to meeting the hostess Cara Titlayo Harshman, a young American who has become a Youtube and internet sensation with her ability to speak and interact in Yoruba and her love and championing of Naija. Maybe she’ll act as my interpreter! As you can see she is a connoisseur of African fashion!

Then the weekend starts proper with events galore, first off on Saturday the 15^th there is the Nigerian Carnival at Marsh Lane Playing Fields, Marsh Lane, Leyton, London E10 7DE. This annual event promises to make up for last year’s absence with a bonanza of exciting attractions and entertainments living up to its boast of being the largest cultural and heritage gathering of Nigerians outside Nigeria. This year’s theme is “Uniting Nigerians for the future". It is due to be hosted by Nigeria’s High Commissioner Dr Dalhatu Sarki with the First Lady Dame Patience Jonathon as a special guest. I fully expect Madam First Lady and the good High Commissioner to be rocking ‘Proud to be Nigerian’ T shirts by the end of the day or else I will not be doing my job properly!

On the same Saturday it is the turn of the Igbo nation with the Igbo Cultural and Support Network(ICSN) Iri Ji (New Yam) Culture Festival. The New Yam festival is one of the most important occasions in the Igbo calendar,  yam was considered the  most important crop in Igbo culture and in the old days when men were men and women were women a persons wealth was determined by the size of their yam barn. Iri ji is celebrated at various times between August and October (i.e. whenever the harvest came in). This year’s Iri ji will hold at Haverstock, 24 Haverstock Hill, Camden, NW3 2BQ and starts at 4pm.

Igbo babes!

ICSN is promising food, cultural presentations, Traditional Dancers, Traditional Plays, Musical Performers, comedians, a Fashion Show and Best Dressed Beauty Competition to name but a few. I’m looking forward to admiring the fine fine Igbo girls and enjoying the richness of Igbo culture, let no man born of woman stand between me and the nkwobi!

On Sunday 16^th we are at the Keep it Real Show in the Fairfield Halls Arnhem Gallery in Croydon. Keep it Real is a health and well being show, there will be seminars on healthy living, a fashion show, poetry serenades cookery demonstrations, performances by the JT jazz band and exhibitors including yours truly

Obi Emeleonye-Mirror Boy 

Sunday evening Proud to be African Clothing will be happily contributing to the prizes at the ScreenNation Awards, at the O2 with Proud to be African T shirts for the 3 African Award Categories Favourite West African Actor, Favourite West African Actress, Favourite West African Film). The Screen Nation Awards were founded by Charles Thompson MBE and have been going for over 7 of years and are designed to empower and encourage diversity in the motion picture and audio visual industries. This years event is being hosted by husband and wife team Angelica Bell and Michael Underwood. 

Here's to hoping that Nigeria gets a clean sweep at the awards and some of our Nollywood favourites become fans of Proud to be African Clothing!

Proud to be African Clothing at Mirror Boy Screening

Director Obi Emelonye, obviously Proud to be Nigerian!

The second groovy event of October 1 2011 was a free screening of the Mirror Boy a 2011 movie by Nigerian Director Obi Emelonye, the general synopsis is  of a young African boy who is taken back home to Gambia by his mother after getting into trouble with a bully. When he gets back he gets lost in the market and then begins a series adventures with a guide called the Mirror Boy.

The film in itself was a shock to me in so many ways, in as much as I love Nigeria, Nollywood and its products depress me as the non existent, plots, production values, lengthy interminable multi sequeled titles simply seem to portray an image of mediocrity that doesn't do Nigeria credit.

This movie was everything a good Nigerian movie should be, the production values were good, with good editing, camera angles and plot lines. The acting was of a standard that most Nollywood films didn't bother with.Genevieve Nnaji as Teema the boy’s mother was excellent, for some reason I had not thought of her as a credible actress until this movie. Edward Kagutuzi in the lead role as Tijan seemed a bit stilted but seemed to grow into his role as the movie progressed and ended with a more confident performance so it was a surprise to learn he was in fact not a 12 year old Gambian boy but a 21 year old, Ugandan, 2^nd year Business and Computing student who had an agent and acting credits from the Bill and Law and Order UK under his belt. Osita Iheme (Pawpaw of Aki and Pawpaw fame) was good and ever pleasing to African and Nigerian audiences but the fact that he needed subtitles when speaking in English somewhat limits his cross over appeal. The other thing that tasked somewhat was the sound quality which varied throughout the film, in one scene whilst walking through the woods the sound of the leaves drowned out the voices and then it switched round and the voices drowned out the leaves.

Obi Emelonye and Edward Kagutuzi 

For all these issues it was a well written, well crafted film, made all the more fascinating by the facts that came out during the Q&A with Obi Emelonye and Edward Kagutuzi after the show.

The film was made in Gambia after an offer from the Gambian government, who in the end provided 15 5 star hotel rooms, 20 soldiers and 5 policemen for security, 15 vehicles and the freedom to shoot all over Banjul. As the credits showed; alot of the technical crew were British, with the director of photography Clive Norman being responsible for the generally soft focus of the film. Obi Emelonye dismissed this reliance on foreign talent as part of the evolution of Nollywood.

The funding behind the film was innovative as well with OHTV sponsoring the film, but it was in terms of the marketing and release that the film came into its own, the decision to hold a release in Leicester Square in a 1500 seater venue on a Tuesday was deemed risky however the fact that it not only sold out but on the day had queues round the block were instrumental in getting the Odeon cinema release deal. This prompted a question about leveraging this pool of supporters to provide crowd sourcing funds for future high quality Nollywood releases, but Obi considered having 100 'small' masters worse than having 1 big one! 

So many things about the movie and the story behind it resonate with me, the whole Born in the UK, Made in Africa theme which was the basis behind Tijan returning to Gambia was extremely important to Obi as he was writing it as he has young children in school in this country and was witnessing them going through the identity issues that the character Tijan went through.

The quality for the film and the self belief shown by taking the risk on the Leicester Square red carpet launch show that with good quality production and a decent even if simple plot Nigerian movies can go on general release and stand shoulder to shoulder with other ‘World films’ in the UK market.

Hopefully this movie has set the bar to which other Nollywood movies aspire to and the business model used will be attractive to other Nigerian movie makers.

Obi Emelonye’s next movie (Last Flight to Abuja) is being filmed in the Tinapa Business Resort in Cross Rivers State, Nigeria and is being produced by Charles Thompson.

I trust this film will be as good as the Mirror Boy and we will be able to showcase the beauty of Nigeria to the world

Proud to be African is exceptionally proud of this move and will definitely be at the premiere of Last Flight to Abuja.

Mirror Boys is on release at selected UK cinemas

100 Black Men of London Conference

October 1^st 2011 was not only the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 51^st birthday it also saw two interesting events at London South Bank University (LSBU) both of which were attended by Proud to be African Clothing

The first was the 100 Black Men of London’s (100BMOL) ‘State of the Black Man’ Conference. 100BMOL is the London branch of an organisation that seeks to confront many of the issues in the black community through proactive engagements such as mentoring, community education, and book clubs and so on. An extremely positive 100% voluntary organisation that does not rely on external sponsors but on the efforts and contributions of members, to put their money where their mouths are by acting out a solution to some of society’s problems rather than just talking about them.

This was the third 100BMOL event I’d attended this year the first being the Book Club which was an excellent event attended by over 150 people again always heart warming to be in a room of people discussing literature, with guest speakers such as Alex Wheatle MBE author of ‘Brixton Rock’ and 6 other titles including his most recent ‘Brenton Brown’ who gave us an impressive preview of his upcoming show ‘Uprising’ which is showing at The Albany Theatre, Deptford this October, also Dr Tommy Smith a former athlete of Mexico 1968 fame.

The second was the family fun day another groovy day, which although held on a rainy day had adults and kids trying out the food and games and generally having a good time.

The state of the Black Man Conference suffered from the opposite problem coming on what will inevitably be the last gloriously sunny weekend this year I think many people voted to attend BBQ’s instead,. Notwithstanding there was a fair turnout of committed interested and interesting people debating various topics such as  fatherhood, criminal justice, leadership, education, money management and entrepreneurship, homophobia, men’s health and mental health to name a few.

100 Black Men of London is an extremely worthy and positive organisation, it epitomises many of the things that Proud to be African does, self sufficiency, self help and positive solutions. I hope to be reporting on more of their upcoming activities