Tunde Ayinla, a leading creative director, visual communicator, veteran choreographer and creator of the Dancinematic Universe’, shares his insight on plan to propel the country’s creative industry into a $100 billion market by 2030 in this interview with KEHINDE AKINPELU.
Tell us about yourself and how you became a force in the creative industry?
My name is Tunde Ayinla, professionally known as Stylslayer. I studied Creative Multimedia Technology abroad with specialty in Visual Communication. I started my professional career over two decades ago. In that period, I have had the good fortune to work with some of the most recognized names across the creative industry, both locally and globally.
I was the Creative Director of the African Troupe in the first ever World Dance Parade held in Malaysia. I have functioned as the Creative Director on several visual adverts and music videos in Africa and Asia resulting in collaboration/networking with global achievers like Emmy award winner, Dan McCain from Los Angeles; the Director/Animator of the first episode of “Kizazi Moto” (the first ever Disney+ African animated series), Raymond Malinga from Uganda.
I created the Dancinematic (the art of making music visual through creative dance storytelling with a world-class cinematic delivery) term and its ever-expanding universe. I also have the honour of being the creator of the first-of-its-kind Cinematic Re-election Campaign Docu-Series for my state governor, His Excellency AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State.
How did you become creative?
I realized very early in life that not only do I have the gift to see and appreciate certain things differently than everybody else around me looking at the same thing but that I could also narrate those things to everybody that didn’t initially notice them with such simplicity of delivery that then makes them wonder how they ever missed the things or details in the first place. I also have the ability to absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and then add what is uniquely my own.
What is your force?
Gratitude! I strongly believe that my unique gifts can only find meaning if shared with the world. Hence, the need to show my gratitude to God by sharing and impacting society with these gifts remains my strongest driving force. Denzel Washington once said about God-given gifts: “On your last day, you can’t take them with you. You have to leave them here.”
How did you come up with the docu-series titled “AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq: The Untold Story” when you claim to be non-political?
A few years before my creation of the docu-series, I randomly happened on a Facebook post about the ground-breaking ceremony of a legacy project of the Kwara State governor. It was the Ilorin Visual Arts Centre (IVAC), also called the Institute of Contemporary Arts and Film. It was touted as the first-of-its-kind in West Africa. Being from Ilorin myself and as an industry professional, it piqued my interest and I just wanted to be a part of its success in any way I can. Hence, I began my research on it in earnest.
I discovered that it was really a first-of-its-kind in West Africa. It was the first purpose-built visual arts centre from scratch and also the biggest in the sub-region. While researching, I discovered that there were other unique and visionary legacy projects of the governor, including IVAC’s corollary Sugar Factory Film Studios, Ilorin Innovation Hub, Ilorin International Conference Centre, Kwara State Garment Factory, and many others.
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I figured foreign investment and tourism were key targets in those projects. I checked online but there were no world-class visuals at the time to portray Kwara as a global contender to complement His Excellency’s giant strides in the mode of the unforgettable “Malaysia Truly Asia” advert on CNN many years ago.
I sprang into action immediately and created the Kwara “Dancinematic” Advert Docu-Series. Dancinematic in the sense that it “creatively showcases Kwara State’s exotic culture, tourist attractions and investment opportunities to the world with the art of music made visual through unique dance storytelling in a world-class cinematic delivery.”
It was privately funded in partnership with 1008 Angels Ltd, with the support of the Kwara State Ministry of Communications. It was a very daunting task but also highly enjoyable and eye-opening. We had to shoot in over 25 locations around the state and sometimes even had to reshoot. It took several months to finish.
How did the governor and the people of the state receive it?
By the time it was ready to be shown to His Excellency, the elections were just a few months away. The atmosphere then was already more of the upcoming elections and after much brainstorming with my team, we decided to keep it for the time being for the sake of maximum impact. In our line of work, timing can be everything. We needn’t rush since it was always going to be a long-term initiative, with it being a 10-episode series to be released months apart, spanning at least two years, if His Excellency okays the prologue/proof of concept we made.
We then turned the atmosphere to our advantage so that the governor’s first impression of us would be that of creating something similarly unique, focusing on His Excellency, using his legacy projects as storytelling tools to have a glimpse into arguably the most hardworking governor in the country. For me, purely as a creative, the uninterrupted conclusion of his projects like IVAC and Sugar Factory Film Studios, etc was a priority, making his re-election a cause I had to support.
With that in mind and a partnership with Hon. Zubair Aliyu Rogun, the Zonal Youth Leader North Central at the time, I came up with the script in just two days. And with the support of the DG, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq Re-election Campaign, Amb. AbdulFatai Yahya Seriki-Gambari, and many other stakeholders, the Cinematic Re-election Campaign, the docu-series titled, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq: The Untold Story was born.
IVAC is now almost ready. If well-led creatively, IVAC is primed to be disruptive in the entertainment industry and the state could become the hub of the creative industry in Nigeria. The building, inspired by the timeless Arewa logo, makes a visual culture-themed statement and the facilities within it are unbelievably world-class. It has two enormous contemporary art galleries for exhibitions of great works of arts from all over the world.
It also has a world-class animation production studio, a groundbreaking Dolby Atmos certified studio environment for its Dub Stage and other facilities for last-mile film, audio and animation post-production accompanied by a Producer’s Lounge with three cinematic production spaces, which can also double as co-working space for filmmakers and artists to create and collaborate, creating a unique hub overall for the creative industry in Nigeria and Africa.
The Centre has a screening room, lecture hall, studio for hosting workshops and real-time visual arts production, sculpture gardens for public use, a multipurpose room, a café and a bookshop. I’m truly proud to be from Kwara and I believe with a couple of self-sustainable ‘blue ocean’ projects in collaboration with the private sector to get out of the ‘red ocean’ of bloody competition, powered by its facilities, IVAC can easily generate millions of dollars per year just from the music and film industry alone, especially in the animation sub-film-industry projected to worth $528.8 billion by 2030. Also, just look at the global venues being sold out already by Nigerian music artistes.
The current administration has articulated a desire to earn $100 billion by 2030 through the export of creative culture.
What are your observations? Do you think we can make it?
Interestingly, it was while making the docu-series that I got the details of the unprecedented steps taken by the government, starting from IVAC at my state level, to the federal level with the creation of the Ministry of Creative Economy (fused with Arts and Culture) by President Bola Tinubu, and followed by its minister’s 8-point Agenda.
Also worthy of mention is the unprecedented collaboration talks between President Tinubu and executives of The Recording Academy (Grammys) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held in New York some months ago, and also government-supported creative hub(s) currently in the works. I believe it can be achieved because one could see that government is ready to create the enabling environment for the creative industry in Nigeria to thrive.
What’s your advice to aspiring creatives who would like to participate?
Luck, they say, is when preparation meets opportunity. They have to be intentional with their craft and there’s no better time than now to hone their respective creative skills and build capacity. Simplicity being the highest form of sophistication in their delivery cannot be overstated and they should always absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and then add what is uniquely their own, to make them stand out, giving them an edge in riding the oncoming wave stirred by the Nigerian government to carry our creative economy to the $100 billion dollar shore.
What is currently on your plate?
I am currently engaged as the Creative Director of an upcoming groundbreaking documentary in the agriculture sector that will feature world-famous celebrities from the United States, among others and will be globally promoted.
QUOTE:
Simplicity being the highest form of sophistication in their delivery cannot be overstated and they should always absorb what is useful, discard what is not.
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