Photography trio Emmanuel Oyeleke, Aham Ibeleme, and Yagazie Eguare have teamed up to celebrate a decade of excellence, growth, transformation, relevance, and impact in the photography industry with a 6- day- not-for-profit impact initiative called PROJECT X.
Scheduled to run from Monday, June 20th to Saturday, June 25, 2022, the PROJECTX Initiative is lined up with photography exhibitions and workshops by the three creatives geared towards inspiring and elevating the minds of the next generation of photographers through shared experiences, structured training, and mentorship.
“We have had quite a journey since our paths crossed at The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TFESS) in 2012. It has been ten years of learning, challenges, victories, and growth. Ten years of choosing and refining our individual creative paths. Ten years of learning from the best hands in our field, and ten years of picking up creative nuances that are peculiar to each of us,” said Yagazie Eguare, Yagazie Eguare, Founder and Lead Creative, Gazmadu Studios.
“Now, ten years after we each started this journey, we want to pay all of it forward. We want to give the support and boost platforms as The Future Enterprise Scheme gave us to the next generation of photography creatives.” Yagazie who runs Gazmadu Studios is the recipient of several national and international awards including The Edwin George Prize for Photography (2017), The Future Awards Africa Prize for Photography (2017), and the HERCONOMY Woman of the Year —Photography (2022).
She has also launched the Gazmadu Education Platform through which she has empowered and equipped over 9,000 photographers. She is also the convener of the first-ever conference for creatives tagged ‘The Art, Business and Creativity Conference.
“Passing on what we have learned and supporting upcoming photographers any way that we can, has always been a priority for each of us. We all started this life-long adventure because platforms like The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TFESS) and supportive people invested in us. We want to do that for the next generation. Individually, training the next generation is something we do, but they say two good heads are better than one. Therefore, to celebrate ten years of growth, excellence, relevance, and impact, we have decided to come together,” said Emmanuel Oyeleke, dedicated photography instructor, tech enthusiast, and Creative Director, EOP Studios.
The studio, which is as old as the curator’s photography career, has made marked contributions to photography, art, and commercial photography both in Nigeria and Africa, earning him recognition within the continent and beyond.
Emmanuel is a Canon Ambassador and recipient of The ASFA Fashion Photographer of the year (Africa) 2018, Fashions Finest Award for Fashion Photographer of the year (2019), and The Future Awards Prize for Photography (2018) amongst others.
Speaking of the event, Portrait photographer and ProjectX co-curator, Aham Ibeleme said, “We are super excited about this initiative. We are beyond certain that it is going to impact not just the photography industry, but the creative industry and Nigeria as a whole.”
Aham who is the Lead Creative at Aham Ibeleme Studios has worked with Aham Ibeleme has worked with Musicians such as Wizkid, 2Baba, Falz, Tiwa Savage, Banky W, Seyi Shay, Timi Dakolo, Brymo, Di’Ja, Reekado Banks, Korede Bello, Eva Alordiah, Bez Idakula to name a few.
Some of his commercial clients include Wema Bank, Union Bank, Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Coronation Merchant Bank, AIG Foundation, Guinness, London Business School, Campari, T.A’Lamode Beauty, AMVCA, Xiaomi, Nuraniya, Genevieve magazine, TW magazine, Vanguard Allure, and Dudu Osun to name a few — further cementing his place as part of the top one percent in the photography industry. The PROJECTX Initiative is set to open with a private exhibition; an opening day, panel session, and art exhibition.
Other major highlights include exclusive workshop sessions for photographers and creatives with the three curators. Participants at the event will get the opportunity to network with notable personalities in the photography industry while learning from award-winning masterminds.
