New York:The emergence of game-changing African’s in New York City can count Ngozi Odita as one of it’s leaders. As the founder and Editorial Director of Society H.A.E, Odita has crafted one of a kind events that bring together hundreds of creatives from a cross section of countries, cultures and industries. Today, she is working her magic again with a signature event ‘Meet The Afropolitans: Digital Media + Culture in Africa.’ The Nigeria native made time to talk to us about the inspiration behind the event and what we can expect to see. (Details on location of event and live stream link after the interview.)
Africa Style Daily: What motivated
you to put this together?
Ngozi:The more I traveled the more I came across African’s who are doing amazing things. It’s like a renaissance. I am always trying to let other people know about this and connecting folks. I wanted to harness this into an experience that reframed the story. What tends to get coverage re: Africa is always a corrupt politician or people who are dying on the continent. But nobody ever talks about these amazing people who are the exact counterparts of people in Europe. It goes without saying that we know about this, but nobody else does. I just felt like we needed to let other people know. And I just said, ‘Let’s talk about Afropolitans.’ Initially I thought of it as ongoing portraits of people here in the U.S. Twenty-first century people who are doing interesting things – that happen to be Africans. I want it to be a project that keeps going. I don’t want it to stop there. I hope it leads to some sort of exhibition where people can see the faces, hear sound bites and get a sense of how are they informing what the future of Africa will be – and the world. Their talents are not exclusive to the continent.
ASD: You seem to be a curator of people
Odita:I always get so excited to meet people. I am always continuously impressed and surprised by the well of talented people I come across. I’m always thinking about how to let other people know what others are doing. It’s something I am passionate about. Ultimately, I feel like artistry impacts people on so many levels and it can be world changing. It changes lives and communities. Using our talents for something that is progressive is amazing so if I can help people then why not?
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