The award -winning photographer and visual artist, Akinmade Akinleye, popularly known as The Optimist, has launched an empowerment initiative, labeled with 'The Rebirth', aimed at promoting art, artists of support and inspiration of hope in African creatives.
Akinleye, founder of Optimistic Visuals, on Friday, through a communication to the press, declared that the motivation behind the initiative is to address the inequality and deprivation of rights in the creative industry through art, technology and empowerment throughout the African continent.
According to him, the Renaissance is a bi-annual event that includes a conference and a workshop that offers tutoring programs for participants.
“Through creative education, the initiative becomes a catalyst for growth in the communities plagued by poverty, displacement and lack of tutoring, especially among orphans and vulnerable young people.
“The Renaissance exists to counteract this by lighting the internal fire of young people and offering them the tools to overcome their circumstances,” he said.
In the background, he added, the initiative celebrates the resilience and the opportunity to throw limitations and adopt the potential through art, the narration of stories, the visual arts, the art of makeup, the digital media and more.
In addition, he added that it also exists to foster artistic expression and connect creative young people with mentors throughout the African creative industry.
“I am committed to pushing the limits of creativity by adopting the evolution of art through AI, combining human emotion with technological innovations that resonate, cause thinking and connect with the public on a deep level,” he said.
In addition, he declared that the deployment of AI in the initiative will facilitate the new approaches to narratives, photography and visual art, improving images for a sustainable and more profitable creative ecosystem.
Akinleye said that the Renaissance will begin in Nigeria, with future events planned in Africa.
He affirmed that for the initiative to be sustained, the strategic sponsorship and the association of African brands, non -governmental organizations (NGOs), corporate organizations and individuals are necessary.
“Together, we shape a future where art not only reflects life but transforms it,” he concluded.
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