White Collar Magazine May 2019: The Creatives Issue

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A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR

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EDITOR'S NOTE 03

POISON IVY THE MAVERICKS DJ 04

WHY ITS DIFFICULT TO MONETIZE CREATIVITY 08

QUESTIONS FOR CHEEKS ZONE, OCTOPIZZO'S MANAGER 12

DISRUPTIVE ART 20

Contents OSBORNE MACHARIA INTERVIEW WITH WHITE COLLAR 24

WHITE COLLAR INTERVIEW WITH CHARLIE KARUMI 36

ED WAINAINA KENYA'S EXPRESSIONIST VIRTUOSO 42

IS COPYRIGHT STIFLING CREATIVITY ?

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Editor’s Note Hello & Welcome to Creatives’ Issue 2019 Creative people, or ‘Creatives’ as they have recently been branded, are absolutely essential. They are more often than not the individuals at the edge of discovery.

They come in all ‘shapes and sizes’; entrepreneurs, artists, film makers, medical researchers.

They lead the charge into the unknown, be it in tech, business, or art. They are our designated explorers.

Despite their many talents, creatives are often disadvantaged and marginalized because they can’t seem to operate in any formal structures. We highlight this and many more ideas.

We also talk to a few creatives who have touched the world.

Their work and reputation precedes them. We discuss the courage and vulnerability required to perform at their level.

We also find out how they see the world and what unique little lessons they’ve learnt in the process of discovering of their craft.

This and so much more inside!

We love hearing back from our readers across our social media platforms. Feel free to let us know what new ideas you came across or points that you learnt or things you might want to see covered in future issues of the magazine.

Contributors:

Michael Kiruthi, Esq Daniel Kathare Ian Macharia Kyama Kivuva

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Kyama Kivuva

ManuKyama

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A Music & Style Icon and Dj at the Dallas Mavericks.

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How did you get started DJ-ing?

I got started in college. My fraternity brother was one the biggest DJs in the city and I asked him to teach me how to Dj. I had a college radio show at that time and I wanted to do more than just be a personality.

So the day after I asked him about teaching me, he dropped off all this Dj equipment at my house.

And that’s how it all got started at 2040 Wisconsin Avenue.

When did Dj-ing move from hobby to a career?

The move from hobby to career was very gradual.

Dj-ing was never anything that I had plotted on. It was just this thing that I had a lot of fun doing but also happened to provide some monetary compensation. As I approached graduation… I think, that’s when it became a career; I contemplated what my post grad plans would be.

I was at school graduating with a degree in corporate communication and a minor in advertising and I thought that I’d be going to law or business school and become this Attorney or Sports Agent.

And then the first female commissioner of the NBA put a pause on graduation; I was pregnant. I had my daughter the day after I graduated from college and I just decided to pursue my passion. That’s how it moved from hobby from to career.

What do you look for in a song when creating a playlist ?

When I’m creating a playlist I don’t look for much. (chuckles) I look for stuff that I like. I look for something that catches my ear. I look for stuff that, the first time I listen to it… my ear kind of ‘turns up’ not necessarily in a good way.

I’m notorious in that, songs that I do not like the first time I hear them I grow to love and vice versa… songs that I love from first listen, I overplay them and don’t want to play them as much anymore.

I look for songs that make me move and makes me feel… something.

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In your experience can music affect an athlete’s performance?

Absolutely!!! Hands down… No questions asked!

How? It’s a science! I like to think of what I do as half science… half art.

From personal experience, what music does to a packed arena, can affect an athlete’s performance incredibly. That’s also why before the game you see athletes pacing around with their headphones on; you just never know what’s playing there. (laughs) Some guys like different things…

Different strokes for different folks!

it… they all Shazam it and that’s more data in the direction of the artist.

to be honest but it’s incredible to hear that sound on that caliber of a sound system.

The sound fills the space well and I just think... why not? Why not use the platform to put on for what I believe is the wave, which is Afrosound.

It just proves that there’s nowhere where we can’t go!

What is the response like when you play Kenyan/ African music at the games?

In an arena there’s so many people so it’s difficult to gauge, but it’s energetic! They’re up… they’re dancing… they’re moving!

Those that are familiar get really excited so there’s a lot of tweets… a lot of social media action.

I just love to hear the sound (laughs) and It’s kind of selfish

I play Kenyan… African music during games because it’s a platform and why not use it to expose people to new music.

And right now the way with the way media is moving, this is multi-media, streaming is of the essence. Streaming can be aided by the number of people in the room especially with an app like Shazam… If I play an unfamiliar song and someone happens to like

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There’s definitely cases of cultural misappropriation in music.

But I just think that too many times we get caught up in the ‘do’s and don’ts’. If somebody likes something, just let them be.

Where I draw the line though is where the work of African artists, especially older ones… gets sampled without credit and without proper compensation.

DJ POISON IVY WITH DALLAS MAVERICKS OWNER, MARK CUBANA

Why do you play Kenyan/ African music during these basketball games?

Are there cases of cultural misappropriation in music?

What’s the best way to handle such cases?

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Music is meant to be enjoyed by all people regardless of race colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation… any preference, really.

If you like the music just let it move, and it’s meant to move… the more of a diverse audience that’s exposed to a particular sound the better.

How is African music performing in the states? (Is there an audience for it?)

I’m joking, I’m a good dancer!

There’s not much I wish I was better at. I’m a consistent work in progress and I know that. When it comes to my work… I’m continuously honing the skills and works of my hands.

If you got a chance to do it all over again what would you try?

African music is honestly one of the most uncultivated and most untapped music markets in the US. It’s there and it’s bubbling but no one knows exactly where it’s going or how it’s growing. And it’s just growing very fast kind of like a weed... like Poison Ivy (chuckles). It’s going everywhere and it refuses to die. There’s just such a huge market for it plus there’s so many different kind of Afrobeat… Afrosound... African music. It’s not even hit the tip of the Ice-berg.

I hoping that I never feel like that... I’m hoping that I’m get it all out now. If I could go back to my younger days, I would have lived on the edge a bit more. To be fair I’ve never been that kind of person but there are moments when I was driven away from something by fear. At the same time, I’m a Gemini so there’s a sense of duality in me; as scared as I could be of something, I’ll also be really willing to approach it. Often times than not I end up doing what scares me anyway.

And I pray to God that I live to see Grammys like ‘producer of the year’ or ‘artist of the year’ originating from Africa or the African diaspora as well.

Still though, I wish I would have learnt an extra language at an earlier age. I’m learning that the older you get, the harder it is to pick up a new language. But other than that, I’m living life on the edge (laughs) I’m giving it all that I’ve got. I understand that it’s YOLO and that this is my chance and it’s not a rehearsal. ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

What do you like most about your job?

I like the freedom to create! The platform it gives you to affect change and the platform to elevate others.

I love making people feel better about themselves and about their efforts. I also love exposing people to new things. I’m that person kind of person…I’m a connector!

I love teaching… educating… sharing. It’s the perfect job for me!

What do you wish you were better at ?

Honestly, there’s nothing that I can say I wish I was better at per se; I mean I’m aware of those things and I’m constantly working on them. Maybe a better dancer (laughs!)

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Why it’s difficult to

Monetize Creativity W

hile compiling the 2018 Creative’s issue, I kept running into a recurring theme with every interview. These brilliant, creative people, more often than not, have a hard time making money from what they do.

When asked about it they list various issues; they talked about how inexperience left them unfortified when negotiating a deal. 0thers have a hard time figuring out how to pin an exact value to their work. Both these points and a slew of many other reasons point at issues involving how artists are compensated across the board, even in the developed world.

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Marc Mayer, the Director and CEO of the National art gallery of Canada has a hard time reconciling the fact that he can’t support each and every artist no matter how brilliant or productive they are because his responsibility is to the public institution which he runs.

This is the same across every one of the arts, they only have the capability to cater to a small percentage of the existing creative population.

Marc advises that creatives should try and find a way to integrate into the business world where they can use their creativity to generate value.

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Understanding creativity: According to psychology, creativity has 2 definitions: First definition: The sum total of creative achievements that you’ve made in life: This is the ability to take a creative idea and use it for real-world applications. Whether it’s writing a song, painting or inventing something new and useful.

The second definition of creativity: The tendency to engage in creative thought: Psychologists test for creative thought by looking at your ability to find correlations between ideas or correlations between words.

They ask questions like, “Name as many words as you can, that begin with the letter S, in the next 23 seconds.” Or deeper more probing questions like, “What would you use a brick for?”

There’s a small caveat here though, for ideas to be classified as creative, they need to be useful on top of them being vibrant & different.

When less creative people are asked about an idea; hardly

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any other ideas are triggered in response. In the case where ideas pop up, they are often closely related to the initial idea. What scientists have found is that these responses often reflect what a majority of people will come up with when asked the same question.

They called this phenomenon a ‘common response’.

In every test, there are common responses and a few outliers.

Looking at the outliers is how scientists identify creative people.

This ability to think outside the norm or ‘think outside the box’ is very sought after. It makes creatives excellent candidates for careers in creative problem-solving.

When companies are looking for a CEO or MD that can turn their luck around most head-hunters target creative thinkers. They are more likely to figure out how to pivot the company’s resources in order to become competitive and profitable again. Creative people are great at building start-ups and reviving businesses, however when it comes to the every-day running of the businesses, less-creative people have them beat. Less creative people are excellent candidates for management positions. Aside from this our level of creativity is linked to a lot of attributes.

Creative people have a sense of adventure.

They’re continuously discovering new ways to experience music, film, photography, or applying their engineering knowledge to create new tech.

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So, what does your level of creativity say about you?

Your level of creativity can be linked to certain factors like IQ, personality and even your political affiliation. The more creative you are, the higher your IQ and also…. the higher the probability of you taking a more liberal view politically. Less creative people are often more conservative.

Creative people have a sense of adventure. They’re continuously discovering new ways to experience music, film, photography, or applying their engineering knowledge to create new tech.

This isn’t the case for conservative people, who feel more comfortable being rooted in fact. It’s reflected in the career choices that they make; they go for options that are firmly rooted in rules like law or accounting. And this is perfect for these people and these career choices.

This isn’t to say that less creative can’t be good at the arts. If you can follow the rules of music, then you can create a decent song, maybe even a hit. It’s a different experience and impact for a musician who lives on the edge of ‘discovery’… constantly experimenting with music.

On one hand, we have artists like

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Lil pump who makes hits and on the other, we have artists like Kendrick Lamar who define entire genres.

The burden of creativity: Psychologist Hans Eysenck wrote a book called Genius where he did a deep dive into creativity. This book has made him one of the most sited writers when it comes to this topic. He found that early traumatic experiences are good predictors of creativity later in life.

Think of it this way though, there’s no reason to be creative unless you have a problem to solve. When someone dies on you young, your parents lose their jobs or you grow up on the rough side of town; events like these force you to put yourself together in a very creative way. People have this notion that freedom is what fosters creativity and so they let their children do whatever they want… but that’s not how creativity works.

The opposite is true; creativity usually emerges when you put serious constraints on things.

A symbolic representation of this thought comes from the word Genie (which is at the root of the word genius). The word genie represents this incredibly powerful force that’s constricted into this very small space. In order for a genie to grant wishes, it has to be both constrained very tightly and be without constraint at the same time. In

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the same way for true genius to be realized, you have to solve a serious and difficult problem.

Because of this and a few other reasons, some people think of creativity as a burden. Creative thinking is a great first step but a lot of work still needs to be done. In the event that you have created something new, unique or disruptive; most people won’t even know to expect it or search for it.

There need to be around 7 or 10 players in the field by the time you introduce your version of the product. This will save you the cost of introducing a product to market.

Case in point, there were about 6 or 7 search engines in the market before Google was introduced back in 1997.

Looking at the numbers, if you design a new product, this only covers about 5% of your cost of doing business. You need to also plan for the other 95% which covers things like marketing, sales, mass-production and what have you. Often in cases like these venture capitalists or investors get involved.

In the business world, there’s a kind synergy between creative people and less creative people. Studies have found that creative people are excellent at creating start-ups but very poor at running them. It’s vice versa for less creative people; who are exceptionally better at running businesses. A good example of this is Steve Jobs, who could innovate in a disruptive way but had a hard time running Apple and this was part of the reason why the board ejected him back in 1985.

extremely slim. For every successful musician or painter who we know of, there are hundreds or even thousands who didn’t make it. The perfect analogy for this is ‘winning the lottery’; the chances are slim but those that win, win big! And just like in the lottery this big win for one individual becomes a sort of signpost that all the rest use to stay motivated and committed.

As slim as these chances are, it’s difficult for creative people to not practice their passion. They quickly shrivel up and become miserable when separated from their chance to exert themselves creatively. There’s a real joy, pleasure and a sense of purpose that comes with exercising creativity.

For the creative, this is something that has to be a part of their lives! However, given how difficult creativity is to monetize it’s not a sound strategy for how to meet real, every-day financial needs. Financial security is a top priority.

Quite a few Hollywood actors have a story or two about their days as a waiter/waitress at an interesting bar or indie coffee house. This seems to be the way that most people cope; by finding a job that won’t drive them crazy while still giving them a bit of free time to exercise creativity and practice their craft. ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

How to escape the ‘starving artist’ category: Creativity is a very-high-risk and very-high-reward strategy!

The chances of a creative person making it are

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B E I N G T O

T H E

T H E I R

‘ Y I N ’

‘ YA N G ’

Cheeks zone

Vick Ongaya aka

Talent Manager to Octopizzo & Creative Lead at Red Leaf Media

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So how did you end up managing creative talent in Kenya?

At first, I wasn’t really managing, I was just helping, ‘you don’t have connects to the studio or these events are looking for someone, I’ll put you on’. I could do this because I’ve been around music and the business behind music for a very long time. I was the Creative Lead at Code Red for a few years and before that I had worked with quite a few recording studios like ‘Underdawg’ and Sneed records before going corporate.

I really didn’t know that I had made an impression when helping people, until this one morning when I woke up to find over 20 messages and about 50 missed calls all of them were about 1 artist.

So, I called Octopizzo like, ‘Hey bro, what’s going on?

Why is everyone calling me about you?’ and he told me that he had put me on his site as his manager, because he couldn’t trust anyone else.

That was my first day as a talent manager!

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What’s the scope of your work? How do you create an environment that fosters creativity?

I think of myself as more of a talent developer. Let me explain what I mean. Most artists in Kenya want a manager who will figure out

how to get them paid. You know knocking on doors, trying to get them a deal or endorsement.

What I do is more like A&R in music jargon, which involves finding new talent and nurturing it and turning the artist into a brand. If the talent is the hardware, I’m the software. My work is brand building such that instead of me going to knock on people’s doors… the brand will be shining so bright that people will be attracted to it. To do this you need to define and understand your market.

Let’s say we have an artist from Kibera who we want to be a national success.

Let me make sure he’s the Voice of Kibera.

Let me make sure he dominates Nairobi… schools, colleges and campuses. Let me make sure he takes over the airwaves. Let me make sure he takes over the country as a whole and has a strong relationship with brands… gets brands placements.

At this point we have a local celebrity, he’s an artist but what else is he offering? For me, everyone that I have worked with whether its artists or even brands from the corporate side… they

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need to have meaning! When you look at Octopizzo you see a story of grass to grace, you see someone who defied the odds to get where he is.

And once you give someone a platform that enables him to find in himself a sense of purpose in life and a purpose in the creative space, everything else begins to align itself. It becomes easier to plug into initiatives like the work we do with UNHCR to help refugees. Even with his music he knows, my work needs to address all these issues as well. He knows that, ‘yes, I’m entertaining but I’m also offering something great through the music.’ ideas like these help with longevity and this is something that 99.9% of artists don’t have in Kenya. If the music stops right now, most of these artists will be forgotten.

I don’t know if there’s anyone who likes their job the only exception is people who are passionate about their job.

What is the most important quality for an artist to have?

What qualities should a manager have?

The thing I care the most about is how focused are you? There’s this line by ‘Hov he said “we offer our lives, right? What do you bring to the table?

For anything in the creative space, you need to be focused… you need to have a vision…. you need to have a destination. If you don’t have a plan even in life, then as a talent manager it’s difficult for me to help you get anywhere.

Most managers try to change an artist. If I meet artist X and say ‘Hey, I want to manage you’ and at the back of my mind I have this idea about who he’s supposed to be and may include him losing his original identity, then that’s the wrong approach.

In my work as a talent manager, making money is a byproduct of doing things that I really enjoy doing, it’s never a goal itself, when starting up you have to enjoy the process and as you focus on achieving something it’s easy to block the noise and just go for it. If you start thinking about money, especially when an artist is young and doesn’t have much clout to their name then it’s easy to get distracted and end up making mistakes that could mess up his brand, personal relationship and even future. But when I’m thinking, ‘Hey, let me build this brand I’m going to sell it one day for a billion then it’s very different.

For artists if you can’t listen then you’re in the wrong field. You’re in the communications business. You have to be able to listen to the voices around you and then filter it. Maybe if a song doesn’t hit or an interview goes south, you need to know why and then work to make it better next

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time. Always evolve without losing your core traits, go with the times be the wave not just part of the wave and for this you need to be a step ahead of the pack in your thinking, how you move, the choices you make in life, fashion and even the brands you partner with. If you’re not going to do it to the best of your ability, then don’t do it at all.

What are some negotiating tips that you have learnt over the years when working on your client’s behalf ?

1. Do your research: Find out more information about the kind of deal you’re about to get into. What’s the industry standard? What are the usual rates?

agency background and can help you get the best deal possible.

4. Always be willing to walk away if you don’t get what you want. Remember this is business and when trading you don’t give anything away without getting something in return.

What do you appreciate the most about your job? What do you tolerate the most about your job?

Honestly, I don’t know if there’s anyone who likes their job the only exception is people who are passionate about their job. For me I’m passionate about arts, music, creativity and graphic design… it’s a lot of fun. If you’re a creative and you’re not having fun, then you’re in the wrong field.

Three quarters of the world didn’t know about late Nipsey, until they found out about what he was doing for his community and society at large. He was changing lives!

2. Ask questions and take your time: If there’s something that you don’t understand make sure that you’re clear about what it is before moving on. Before a client approaches you, he must have done research that made you stand out as a force to reckon with so make sure you also live up to the hype by being informed and able to match or even counter the offer on the table. Most times the contract you receive from a client is just a proposal and it’s your negotiation skills that will make those numbers go up or remain the same.

3. Involve an expert/professional and someone with experience: Always involve a lawyer. If you’re working with an agency, find someone with an

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One thing I appreciate, is the dynamism of this job. You don’t really know what tomorrow will look like. Today, I’m talking to UNHCR about refugees, tomorrow I’m talking to H&M about fashion and collaboration, the next day I’m talking to the government about community and behavior change initiatives. It’ really broadens the mind and helps you think laterally. Talent will get you to the same table with Kings, but it’s up to you to figure out what you’ll do with that opportunity, meaning you always need to be ready.

What the greatest challenge you’ve faced?

When you’re managing an artist, you’re involved in their day to day lives. This puts you in a position where you can make a decision that can impact his

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life positively or make a decision that fucks him up. This fact by itself, that you can make a decision that can ruin someone’s life forever and you’ll have to live with that. Just that! but on the flip side If you’re in a situation where you’re manipulating something, and you truly believe it’s for their betterment then that’s a justification I’ve found in the past.

What are some of the issues you’ve noted with artist management locally management ?

There’s a lot of role reversal.

Most local talent managers are there to be told what to do. To be sent on errands and what have you. That’s not a manager, that’s a personal assistant (PA).

Most Kenyan artists have PAs, not managers. A manager is someone who is supposed to help you align to your goals and help you grow as an artist and as a person/ businessman and for this he needs to be innovative and an expert on the ins and outs of the music business to help one activate all these areas in brand making.

How do you measure success?

I measure success in 2 ways, Reach and Impact. From my perspective as a communication practitioner, impact is greater

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than reach.

Impact is something that can’t be overlooked. We all know about artists who before anything is done in their local community they have to be involved. That’s Impact. If there’s something happening in Kibera, whether it’s a show happening or a political rally, it doesn’t matter Octopizzo has to be involved one way or the other. If there’s no Octo, there’s no show. He has to be somewhere in that conversation!

You can’t be the best rapper from a particular region, yet at your own community no one knows your story. You need to consolidate your base first! And it doesn’t have to be about music or art only, the artist can advocate or give pointers to organizations about how to engage the people.

What people don’t know is that Corporations buy Impact not reach. They can pay for reach on TV and be seen globally, what they really need is that one individual who makes the difference by triggering behavior change.

What’s been the highest point of your career so far?

We’ve had some great times.

Some wins… some losses! But I don’t think we’re even half

way there. We want to win a Grammy! We want that ‘Bono’ clout and change the way people view Africa. We want to change the lives of youth! I honestly believe that music elevates you to somewhere you can impact others. Three quarters of the world didn’t know about late Nipsey, until they found out about what he was doing for his community and society at large.

He was changing lives! And when everyone found out, respect went through the roof.

We’re not yet there but we’re on the right track there. We’re impacting people. Changing the lives of Refugees through our Refugeenius program… we have

We want to win a Grammy!

We want that ‘Bono’ clout and change the way people view Africa.

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a bunch of success stories there, bringing a few artists up as well… and all the women’s initiatives that we support in Kibera.

I remember starting out with Octo taking him to his first studio session, helping him find his footing as an artist, helping him with his first deal… all of this, I did from the bottom of my heart, first forward to now seeing him impact and positively change like a million lives… to me that’s the greatest joy I have so far.

Should more artists consider being under management? If so, why? If not, why not ?

We all need to find our gurus. … someone who we can be accountable to. We have to make sure that it’s someone who knows you as a person, understands your vision, and someone who understands your era & the way things are changing and should have great people skills. It has to be someone who is also willing to walk with you on this journey, someone who sees beyond the money.

You need to know who is legit and who is there for clout. And as an artist manager always seek help when needed, partner with the right brains. Dj Pinye was legit. Dj Pinye came at the right time, we had a brief session with him for about 2 to 3 years. We wanted to take the brand to another level, and we needed someone who could help us get there. Pinye owned and pushed the brand! It was more personal than even music, he was like a father-figure to Henry.

Styles as well took the time to talk to us, Blaze, Emukule, Mike from Viva con Agua the list is long, this is how you get everyone to be part of the story, by collaborating with great minds even beyond the music.

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People have a lot to say about the local music industry. What’s your perspective as an insider?

Some scholars say that repetition is the best teacher, it helps transition a skill from the conscious to the subconscious. If I tell you about something repeatedly, you’ll accept it as the coolest thing ever. It’s the same way with local music; people in Kenya are used to being fed foreign content. I usually say that Nairobi being metropolitan, just like New-York. Right now, NewYork music, aka the Boom-bap rap, is kind of dead and people are trying to revive it. What’s hot in the streets is trap, which is from Atlanta. And for trap to hit globally it has to play in New York Radio stations. The same thing with Nairobi, for music to hit in Africa it has to hit in Nairobi and that’s something that people haven’t realized yet. You keep seeing all of these artists jetting in for media tours and you wonder why. Kenya as a whole is a consumer state, we consume more content than we produce. We consumed Nigerian movies and understood their way of life and context; the way they mourn, the way they celebrate, and it was easy for us to relate to their music.

I like this new wave of ‘lamba lolo’ and “shrap” but I have a hard time understanding where these kids are coming from and relating to them. People relate to stories they can decode with ease, that they have history with or understand the context and if an artist can capture and represent that in away that anyone can relate and decode then you’ll see the impact.

We can’t be mad at Djs for playing foreign content.

They play it because that’s what people want to listen to through requests. And if they don’t then

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their ratings will go down, and they’ll lose their jobs, but at the same time we have a moral and ethical obligation to at least be patriotic and support our own.

It’s high time we take “fame” back from our politicians.

What advice would you give to artists who are starting out?

Answer these questions as an artist: 1. Why am I doing this 2. Who am I talking to / what’s my target audience?

3. What am I standing for / what’s my message?

4. Who am I representing / what’s my core fanbase?

Know where you want to go.

Be focused!

And get the ‘software’ that will support the music side of things (hardware).

Get some critical think tanks around you, not just yes men, be more strategic about the actions that you take. I’ve seen an artist with the capacity of a multinational bank operating with the business module of an M-Pesa shop. ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

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DIS RUP TIVE

SHIFT IN STYLE

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COLOR MIXING BY EMMANUELLE MOUREAUX (MYMODERNART, 2017)

The Emergence of Immersive Art

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he adjective that best describes the 21st Century is “disruptive”. Before, disruption simply meant ‘causing disorder and chaos’. Riotous, unruly, wild, troublesome, fractious, you name it. Not many people really saw the definition of “innovative and ground-breaking” coming. No, quite a lot of people missed it actually, until we were smack in the middle of it!

Innovation is a modern word, attributing its origins to the late Middle English. It describes new ideas and creative imagination in developing better solutions for existing and new needs. A quick lookup via Google search engine reveals a spiking increase in its use over time:

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others amuse, take the beholder to another place, while others make no sense at all. But this is exactly how people like it. This is the definition of art, a creation without boundaries. This border, for now at least, is entirely up to the beholder to decide.

The emergence of immersive art boils down to a generational transition. Today, babies are handed interactive gadgets as soon as their tiny hands can hold them. Of course, they are going to want interactive art when they grow up! Besides, nobody (young people) wants to just stand and stare at bland art in boring galleries anymore. So while immersive at may be targeted at young people, you might just lose yourself in the experience regardless of age.

This is an artistic colour flow gradient made up of over 25,000 papers flowers.

Artists who could not afford to rent space at art galleries are now at liberty to run their imaginations wild at free city warehouse and concept venues. Such alluring art environments are becoming commonplace across spaces in cities as artists now have a new lease of life to try DIY installations. Of course every installation has some intention behind it; some creators aim to please,

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IMMERSIVE FOREST OF THE NATURA OBSCURA ART EXHIBITION AT THE MUSEUM OF OUTDOORARTS The possibilities are endless for immersive art. A creator only needs to think up an idea and get down working.

You can almost never go wrong with art, especially this kind. Some artists pick a theme around which they build their work, be it sci-fi or nature, whatever inspired them. Others may choose to tell a story. Whatever it is, immersive art, in any form, is transcendental. Whether it’s the psychological undertones that it possesses or the subconscious that it resonates with, it will always elicit an feeling, and that’s the experience that the new age people want.

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Technology plays an important role in immersive art. Whether it’s the backlight, sensors that control sound and scent, or the dynamic materials that help create these lasting shapes, tech expands the toolkit available to artists. The

only barrier is the imagination. The technology also allows them vertical integration with media production houses, AR companies, and other content creators. Of course, some question whether this is even art.

Therein, artists achieves their

objective, when the exact nature of their creation is questioned.

SIMULACRA VISION” BY NICOLE BANOWETZ AND CHRIS BAGLEY

MEOW WOLF, HOUSE OF ETERNAL RETURN

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This was my last appointment of the day. By some miracle, the furious Nairobi traffic had let up, and I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes ahead of schedule. I decided to go through some notes in preparation for the meeting. My notes are a jumbled cryptic mess that only, I, can understand (code for I have terrible handwriting).

So, while trying to find my bearing, the statement “commissioned by Marvel’s Black Panther” jumped out at me. I had repeatedly underlined it while thinking about the sheer scale of a studio like Marvel.

rican artist’s efforts are a crucial step on the journey to retrieve our own narrative.

As it turns out, the team at Black Panther wanted to see Osborne’s interpretation of ‘Wakanda’ and he showed them this Futurist depiction of the Maasai People. Specifically, a council of 3 blind Elders called ‘Ilgelunot’ which means the chosen ones. They led the Nomadic Maasai tribe and advised the Black Panther. There’s some poetic justice here; having an African artist show their vision of what a technologically empowered society in Africa could look like. Osborne and the other Af-

Closer to home though, I loved the stories that accompanied the art pieces; in one Osborne meets a group of ladies who have formed a collective called Magadi.

They are a group of former female circumcisers who had abandoned the practice and opened a safe haven for girls facing early marriage. Since they were out of work they turned to fashion to make ends meet and discovered that they had a knack for it. Osborne took photos of the women modeling their bold and dazzling designs so

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Osborne is also opening doors for African creatives to go into new territories. He is the first Kenyan to become a Cannes Jury member back in 2018, Osborne’s eye for detail, craft and storytelling helped set apart the most provocative advertisements in the world. His perspective, process, and results shocked even the repeat judges at Cannes.

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that he could share them with the world and shine a light on them. It’s a story of beauty from ashes; of discovered identity; a story of renewed zeal to be a force for good no matter how late in life. When you look at the photos through this lens they take on further depth and a whole new glow.

Osborne’s work re-imagines what it means to be African.

It shows what’s possible when we decide to write our own stories. He’s become a leader in the Afro-futurist renaissance, and has officially defined the movement as “An artistic repurpose of the post-colonial African narrative through integrating historical elements, present culture and future aspirations of people of colour by using Narrative, Fantasy, and Fiction to highlight African identity.”

design firm.

That's where I learned Illustrator and it just opened my mind completely. I used to be very artsy, and illustrator joined that to the limitless potential of digital.

What did you study? Does it factor into what you’re currently doing?

I was studying architecture.

There were compulsory internships from 2nd year. 1st year, you would do whatever you wanted to. So my internship at the design firm changed the course of history. Because somewhere in 3rd or 4th year, architecture became more engineering and calculations, and the rest of the art elements took a back seat. I knew for

The sharp sound of my phone vibrating brought me back from thought. Osborn was calling… trying to locate my table. He walked in with Wangechi (his wife); there was no shortage of affection between them, one could immediately tell that they were thick as thieves… inseparable!

We fumbled through our orders while making introductions. He seemed sociable and down to earth. After our drinks arrived, I went in for the first question:

What was your childhood like?

Very active, very playful. I hated books; I hated reading.

I only looked forward to two things: games time and art time.

When did your relationship with creativity start ? What is the first instance when you knew you created something , and you were really excited about it?

I guess it's always been there from the time I was a kid.I’ve always looked at the world like, “This is how things are done. How can I do it differently?”

I used to love graphic design, and basically the art scene. I remember the end of 1st year I interned at a

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sure after finishing school my first choice wasn't to go into an architectural firm. I preferred to get into anything graphics related. I lost interest and then came the whole ‘failing in school’ bit. I failed a unit, sat for a supplementary, and failed the supplementary as well!

Kenyan brands are too riskaverse. They’d rather do the same thing that was being done in 1963, stick to it, and they’ll be OK.

So I had to stay out for one year.

That’s when I picked this up.

Let's talk about that one year.

I'm guessing it started off as an idea, like “I could do this”.

What pushed you from that idea to actualizing the first project ?

I had nothing to lose; I had lost it all. At that time, there were no Kenyans who had done photography on the commercial scale. Even in advertising agencies, work used to be given to expatriates in the country.

So when you tell your folks I want to stop being an architect, this high profile career, I want to be a photographer, they see this guy at Uhuru Park holding a camera.

It was a conflict, a big fight. Also, I was engaged to someone different at that time. She didn’t see photography taking us anywhere, so she left.

I really had nothing to lose, this was it. It was either you make it, or you make it. Those were the only

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two options. So I stuck to it.

What did it take for your parents to believe in the vision?

A lot! My folks are the book types.

My dad has two Master’s degrees, my mom has two Master’s, her Ph.D. is on the way. Everyone is a bookworm.

Then comes this young kid who wants to be a photographer. I couldn’t even stay at home; I was at Jomo Kenyatta University and I first stayed in school. With that, I started shooting for Drum Magazine, the cover Drum and some inside pieces for True Love Magazine.

I can tell my mom was mad at me, but she’d take some magazines from me and show them to people at work. That’s when I realized there was some acceptance coming. They told me to give them the degree she said, “no matter what it takes, just give us the degree and we can stay with it. Then go be a sweeper if you want, just give us the papers.”

Your identity evolved from this guy shooting plain pictures to this guy who’s doing things that are messing with everyone's mind. How did that happen?

It got to a point where we asked ourselves, what next?

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S o we shot advertising, it’s cool, what next? We shot this, what next?

In 2014, I met Kevo Abbra, who became my stylist. We were talking and decided on an idea, we didn’t know where it would lead us. The conversation went like, ‘Why don't we play with fictional narrative and create this mix of reality and fiction, but we never tell guys?’

How did the first conversation with the first model that you stopped, go?

Kevin grew up in the ghetto, so knows how to talk to people, very well. He’s the one who actually convinces these people to become our models.

I remember the first shoot that we did, when people realized what was happening, was the one for The League of Extravagant Grannies. I remember when they came to the studio and they were just chilling... quiet and reclusive. But when we started doing their hair and makeup, we could feel that sense of life coming back to them. You could see it in the way they were walking around the studio and I was wondering, “Are you the same one who came and were so timid?”

We see that transformation with every character. Same thing with the Hip-Hop grandpas when they got to the studio, they are shy and timid until you put them into their costume and they change their walking styles and start bouncing in the studio. It’s like they get a different persona. It's like getting a second chance in life. I remember when we launched the Hip-hop Grandpas, two of the guys actually became stars in their hood.

Has it been easy finding brands to collaborate with?

Sadly, there are no brands in Kenya that we collaborate with. Kenyan brands are too risk-averse.

They’d rather do

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the same thing that was being done in 1963, stick to it, and they’ll be OK. Yet people want more. Guys are doing projects, they are doing movies, and everyone is hungry to do something. But you find that Kenya is not ready for that. So we found others who were ready, and they were in South Africa.

Speaking of South Africa, Let's talk about the Absolut Project. What was that like for you as an artist ?

Absolut Project was amazing. One, because I got to work with a director who was into Afro-Futurism. I remember when he was doing consult for this thing, we started communicating so I had an idea of what he wanted to do. Me coming in to work as a photographer and as a model for that was incredible.

He’s a talent, let me say. Everyone on that set was on point. That's the thing that I found the difference between creatives locally and creatives outside. Everyone even the CEO of the Advertising agency was very humble, down to earth… very curious as well. The CEO would come and say, “What can I do? You’re making magic, how can I help?”

Compared to what you find here, guys just come and sit with that bossy attitude. Outside, we all get into it; we make it happen.

Is that how you are both as a team? Do you do everything together and supplement each other?

Everyone has their own rules. But if you’re on set and someone needs help, I’ll get out of my way as a photographer and help the stylist, or buy food for the team. So roles are interchanged. We’ve been in places like when we were shooting Magical Series Magadi.

Our idea was to go for one day and come back. But we realized it was too late and we had to spend over. All the rooms at that time were fully booked so we had to sleep in a hall. We had cushions as our mattresses and no one complained. Everyone knew that we were there to do work, the work is key, and everything else comes in second. And when you find guys who are like that, it’s awesome!

Let’s talk about something that local creatives have an issue with, copyrighting and protecting their work. How would you advise them to go about this?

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Copyrighting is quite interesting. I found it a little easier for me, especially since I have a signature style. So you find someone doing a project somewhere else, like in Russia and someone tags me and it’s not mine. So whenever someone uses an image or posts an image, people will always tag me and I’ll follow it up.

So we imagined what they would look like and came up with these five characters whose costumes are made up of airplane parts. Then we brought them to life.

That signature style has been advantageous to me. I feel people are learning how serious it is. There’s more education that’s available online now, as compared to when I started; companies and agencies used to steal people’s photos until people started fighting back. Now it’s become something that’s a bit more sensitized especially in Kenya.

1. The conversation starts and somewhere in the middle of it an idea comes up, “we need to create these characters who make this furniture.”

So, you’re working on an idea. How do you start it off and what are the various iterations and things you do in order to get to the final product ?

3. Then we have to think about the location and about the credibility of the story, “will people actually be-

Let me give you using an example. There were these 2 aeronautical engineers who make furniture out of aeroplane parts. It started with a phone call. They were previously called Sky Décor but they rebranded to Air Gikosh.

One of the guys reached out to me and was like, “We make stuff out of Aeroplane parts, can we have a sitdown?” I remember when we met and they showed me what they do, I was blown away.

They wanted a collaboration. They had this furniture, about 20 pieces that were leaving the country, so they wanted us to shoot and create characters based on the furniture that will accompany the work when it travels around the world.

That's how we came together. So we created these five characters: imagine Gikomba, you know these tin trucks that you've seen from the time you were a kid?

But imagine if underground there was actually a bunker

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that was created in the 70s. And in those 70s, there were about five engineers who stay lived there making these pieces of furniture-art.

The process is:

2. From there comes the story and the story was these guys were ex aeronautical engineers who retired, so now they make furniture.

lieve it.” That's how we filter. This story filtering process takes a while.

Who is in charge of story creation?

I am the one. I handle the story. So once that's done we begin researching. What kind of costumes can we create, what kind of lighting can we use, what’s the environment in this bunker? We really wanted to create a huge bunker but we couldn’t photograph that. So we took images of the fuselage and scaled it up to look like a bunker. So such details, what will their makeup look like? We five characters, they all have to be distinct. How will their hair look like? What features will one have that will be different from

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the other? That compliments their skills as engineers; they have to have something. So all that discussion.

I remember this project took us two years to compete. The minimum time we spend on a project is four months.

We’re currently at this new phase, it’s called Art+. I think we’re silly or very crazy to be thinking about it.

It's Art plus something else. What we’re trying to do is de-colonize African art space.

Because art spaces in Europe and the West are always clean walls in a room and the art piece. So what would be the African version of a gallery? So we bring music, we bring food, we bring fashion! We bring a whole new 360 experience and most importantly we bring the characters that we've been seeing online, we're bringing them to the physical space. So you come and meet the Hip-hop grandpas, you interact with them and take

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photos. That's our little experiment.

You recently became a jury member for the Cannes festival. What was that like for you?

I was shocked. I remember when the guy who was in charge of jury members sent me a message on LinkedIn like, “Osborne, would you like to be a judge?” And I thought it was a joke because that is the most prestigious advertising festival that there is in the world. And no Kenyan had ever been selected. But I applied, and I was selected. It was mind-blowing what guys are doing outside.

What was the scope of your responsibility as a judge? What are you assessing?

Our scope was industrial craft. We were focusing on the idea and the execution.

We didn't care about how many social impressions they got. And from just being with these people who are in-

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dustry giants, and seeing the way they think, how they reason and argue stuff out, I learned a lot.

I went there with an open mind. One of the important messages that I got from there is: we have so much to offer. The campaigns that were winning were responding to a problem.

So it’s a problem that you are offering a very pretty solution to.

In Africa, we have problems left, right and center; it’s just a matter of taking a problem and solving it, not from a Western perspective but using an African perspective.

What does your new found position as a jury member mean for Africa?

Being there and getting exposed, how does it benefit Africa?

That’s a very interesting one. I actually have no answer for that.

Wangechi (Osborne’s wife): In my perspective, I think it opens up the world to what Africa is capable of doing. I think having Osborne there lets them know that we do know these things, advertising, photography, and such. The fact that he was there opens up a door for others to come in and also give their perspective.

Actually, there’s one of my jury members, she's the Chief Creative Officer at Publicis, Italy. She was sharing my work with a lady who represents photographers in Italy and she reached out to me about being representing me in that side of Europe. Let me say one thing. I hope, from what I’ve learned and what I've shared with creatives here

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and there, will actually create works that win awards.

I think for that to happen, agencies have to be selfless, not think about themselves but the long term. Agencies mentoring the next generation of creatives, which I found is something that doesn’t happen here. So I hope that will change, that such initiatives will begin. And that will cause a change.

Because I feel right now in the industry, there are two sets of creatives, the agencies and then there are the creatives. Guys like me who are doing their own stuff to counterchange what the agencies have done over the years. When you travel outside, you find that the creatives and these agencies actually work together, so they push the creative boundary higher.

Let's talk about The Black Panther.

How did that happen?

I woke up one morning and got an e-mail with the title “Black Panther”, and saw the subject. I switched off my laptop first and sat down wondering, “This isn’t what I think it is!”

I opened it again, read it, sent it to Kevo, and he called me back in tears, “It’s happening!”

From there, we started corresponding with the guys and they explained to me what the project was about.

Marvel was commissioning five to create works based on Black Panther.

I shared my first idea and they passed; trying to explain something to them, especially from an African perspective, was kind of tricky.

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I toned it down a bit, they liked it, and we broke for Christmas. We came back on 27th, started creating stuff, shot it on the first week of January and submitted. Then they went quiet for a week and I thought that we did not deliver, that we’d messed up a really good opportunity.

One day I was out buying goods for roracio (traditional engagement ceremony) and got an email saying that those guys had loved my work so much, they’re going to put it up in the biggest cinema hall in London.

That was it! From that actually came another even in Singapore, called Marvel 10 Years of Heroes.

They were doing this big exhibition with the different Marvel characters and some of my work was there.

You’ve worked with the Oprah Winfrey Network. How did you land that gig?

It was just an email again.But this was sent to my agents in South Africa.

It didn't hit me that much because I was still working with Black Panther. Reality hit me when I landed in New Orleans for the shoot, that’s when it sank in. I remember asking the lady who was in charge there, “How did you guys get us all down here?” she said, “Ava DuVernay, she’s been a fan of your work”.

By the time I was landing, we were having dinner but Ava wasn’t there. But everyone was so glad that I had made it there. Outside, the level of respect you get is so high. For your profile and your work, people treat you like something you wouldn’t find here, it’s on a whole new level.

When a project lasts so long , like the two-year project you did, how do you stay inspired and motivated?

Once I start something I have to see it to the end. Before that I also invest my own money into my personal projects, so I feel the pinch. That's how we’re able to see it through.

So, constantly Pushing yourself, is that it?

Boredom as well. Boredom of the same… boredom of the same people, the same place, the same faces, the same color skin tones.

We decided that we were not going to work with models. We were going to work with ordinary people. So all the models that we use ordinary people that we stop in the streets.

Do you think that there's any potential for the Nairobi art scene, Kenya, East African, and Sub-Saharan Africa?

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One thing I know is that young people are ready to make the change and are doing everything within their powers to make that change. Unfortunately, we don’t have the support of the industry, the guys who should be supporting this change. So everyone is trying to make it on their own.

Let’s talk about a challenge that you thought you’d never get past. Something you faced that made you think that maybe photography's isn’t for you.

I once got a local Kenyan manager, who was trying to bring structures that cannot work here. It was a challenge. I remember that year I got only three jobs the entire year. At the same time, it’s the year I decided to experiment. So remember traveling to Kajiado; I’d decided I was going to shoot the Maasai, guys who’d been shot like a million times.

I wanted to give it my own twist; the lighting, give it some texture. I remember shooting it, came home, loaded it in my computer and forgot about it. I got bored, finished retouching, and left them on my hard drive.

A friend of mine told me to try Behance because at that time, I had about 4 projects and my views were just 6,000. So I did four more projects that year and each of them was being featured. By the end of that year, I had moved from 6,000 to 200,000 views.

What’s been the highest point in your career so far?

My career has changed so much. It's evolved from photography, now we’re talking about experiential art.

Now we’re getting to a place where we’re scared about space. During the Alliance Francaise experience we had last year in February; we spoke with Harsita Waters who in charge of events there. I remember saying to her that the event is going to be packed and she told us not to worry because whenever there is an art event only 40 people show up. So they provide free food for the first 40 people and give you two security guards.

The shock on her on the day when we had about 2,000 people show up. It got so packed that at some point the guards had to lock the door. They’d wait for some people to come out, then let others in. and all this time there were people waiting outside. So we are now worried about space; the last one we did for Air Gikosh had over 4000 people who registered.

Can you say you feel lucky?

It’s divine. I don’t know how it happened but it did.

There are some connections that I try to make along the way, but the core team I’d say, are the people that I can always rely on. They are always there!

So I thought that was the visual style that we should stick with. And that’s what I’ve been doing. Right now, from four featured projects in 2014, I have over 52 featured projects right now. The most challenging thing during this period was focusing on the craft and learning how to sacrifice. I remember that I used to do projects when I had KSh.30,000, which was expensive for me. Because, with that money, do I pay rent, or do the project?

Now projects range from KShs.200,000 -300,000 each.

So that took me a lot of discipline.

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Who is Charlie? (A media personality is a lot of things to a lot of people but how would you describe yourself?)

Charlie is an entertainer because most of my work goes in entertaining. so first and foremost I'm an actor and I'm also a TV and radio host And I'm also a vlogger. So Charlie Karami is an entertainer. I guess that is how I describe myself.

What was your childhood like? Did you enjoy it?

I don't remember specifics about my childhood but it was really chill. I grew up in Uthiru and went to school in Genesis primary school and in Visa Oshwal and then to White Cottage. I guess I can describe it as chill. Did I enjoy it? I did. I had a fun childhood. Did normal things, went to school played football, injured myself. I still have a scar on my forehead from injuring myself. But yeah I did enjoy my childhood.

Who were your role models?

I can't remember. I think I didn't really have any role models because I wasn't exposed to a lot of new people around me apart from family and a few uncles and aunties. It was usually the same people. So in terms of role models I guess it was people on telly and mostly actors. So maybe my love of acting came from that from having them as role models. I used to watch a lot of TV back in the day.

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Looking back were there any personality traits in your early life that pointed to a career in Media?

Not really actually. Like I tell a lot of people, for the longest time I've never known what I wanted to be.

There's the time I wanted to be an astronaut but that didn't work out. There weren’t any personality traits that really pointed to it. I think the first time I did anything even close to acting was high school. I went to Alliance high and that was the first time I really acted. So nothing really. I was just a small kid in a small primary school in the middle of Gachie. I guess I was dramatic even way back in the day but I didn't really express it in like any way, no plays or poems or whatever.

Were you a model student? Do you feel that education has adequately equipped you for your career?

What changes would you advise to help improve the quality of education?

Empowering students, talking to them, making them believe that whatever they really set their mind to, they can achieve, and not shutting things down. I know some ideas deserve to be shut down. But at least listen to people and encourage and teach people how to figure out if their ideas are good or not.

I feel like a lot of my ideas come up in the shower, I don't know. There's something relaxing about being and warm shower.

Was I a model student? Not really.

I did well in school. I would like 440-something in KCPE, I got A-minus in KCSE. University wasn't so bad.

Anyway, I wasn't a model student but I wasn't so bad. I don't feel like education has adequately equipped me for my career. I feel like both formal education from school and also from seeing my parents working; my mind, till this day, is more tuned to getting through school and finding one place to work, where you dedicate your entire life or efforts. It didn’t equip me for the careers that we see nowadays, where you're the one who is looking for your own job, you're creating your own jobs. Especially the creation. I don't think I was equipped for the purpose of job creation.

Instead of relying on getting hired by a company; I feel like most of the education I received was aimed in that direction. Also in terms of confidence in my own craft and in my own skills; I feel like the education -maybe it was just me as an individual- I received made me not so confident in everything that I do. And also not confident

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in the arts being a viable money making effort. So, job creation and confidence, I feel that's where I really lacked in education.

You are one of those who broke the mould when it came to Vlogging in Kenya. What influenced your decision to go into Vlogging?

I started with my YouTube channel that I used to call it CrawMe back in the day but now it's Charlie's Channel.

CrawMe was like this improvisation-comedy thing that I recorded in my bedroom. I keep telling people like when I hit about twenty-one years old I feel like my funny went away, like I wasn't funny anymore. So I stopped doing the improvisation comedy thing and I thought blogging would be nice. Because some people want to live vicariously through others; like how they see them on their screens and their timelines. A lot of people who show people how they live online, they're always faking things like showing things as they're not. So the whole

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purpose of my blogging was trying to give the most authentic, most-down-to earth Kenyan experience that I could deliver to someone watching. it's also all about visibility because as an actor, you need to improve a lot of things not just your speech and your confidence in front of a camera. Also your visibility when casting directors go like, “This is the guy! We can see what sort of personality he has from his online video content.” So that really helps.

As a story teller creativity is at the centre of what you do. Is there a process to your creativity? How do you come up with new ideas?

I feel like a lot of my ideas come up in the shower, I don't know. There's something relaxing about being and warm shower. Usually- which may not be a good thing -my ideas are not tied to any project in particular. I just go like, “I want a camera to do this or this or this!” And then from there I’ll figure out a project or a way to apply it to a real life video. The process to my creativity: I like scripting a lot but actually not as much as they should.

This year I'm trying to go more into scriptwriting but my creativity, my process is planning. Maybe sometimes over-planning, but planning. I don't do a lot of improve, off the top of my head, I like planning.

How did you discover your brand of comedy?

I still haven't discovered it yet, I guess. I don't think I've discovered my brand of comedy at this point. I wouldn't term what I do as comedy, it’s just light humor.

I don't think I can ever do what stand-up comics do; like jump up on stage and 15-20 minutes just bang bang delivering laughs to audiences. Props to them. I don't think I can do that.

When did acting move from hobby to career?

After I left university. I did business IT. As I told you, at first, I didn't believe in the arts. In the back of my

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head, I thought yeah, maybe one day that can make it to the screens. I was still being practical and I thought I'd leave a university and get a job in business I.T. But that wasn't to be because I hadn't made such good ties with companies when I was in university. One thing you realize, if you have an interned or spoken to a lot of companies and a lot of employers by the time you're leaving university, when you leave nothing will change.

It's not like immediately you submit your CV somewhere you will get in. You need to have built those ties from second year or something. So when I left, I couldn't find work, I dropped CVs everywhere. Then I did an audition at Spielworks Media and got cast for pilot and then for a project. It was called G-Enable. I actually made some money from that and I used that money to buy my first camera. After that, I worked for Spielworks Media behind the scenes in their digital department and social media. So, acting, I guess it moved from a hobby to career after university.

Why make the leap from comedy to drama? (on Watu Wote) Were the auditions tough?

As I said, I wouldn't classify what I do as comedy it's like light humour. I wouldn't be as confident as to say comedy. Maybe one day, maybe this year. I haven't really made my goals for 2019. Maybe this year I'll go like, “You know what, I'm going to try comedy and see how that works.” But at this point not really. I'm a versatile actor and, weirdly, I've been cast in projects; like G-Enable, I was like this delinquent teen. So I play drama better, I think, than comedy. I play dramas better.

And I like drama because it's more intense. Comedy is tricky: you try to do too much, you lose the audience; you try to little, you lose the audience. But, drama, you just feel out the situation and you can just turn up your instincts and your everything to the max. I love drama for that. I didn't do comedy auditions. But auditions, they're always been tough for anything. Auditions are tough and far in between. This year, I've only done one

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audition and only taken part in a small role on one project.

How do you select which opportunities to pursue?

I don't really. Whichever ends up on my desk! Whatever comes and it excites me. I'm really bad at decision making. I'm struggling right now to figure out what direction my career will take in 2019. So I tend to let the universe choose which has kind of worked out in my favor. But I want to change it, I want to be more intentional.

Are there any missed opportunities that you wish you leveraged?

Maybe I should have taken YouTube more seriously. There were times I went without a job for a while and I had my camera and had ideas. But I was so intent on finding another employment opportunity. Looking over the fact that with my camera and my personality I could build something really big on YouTube.

Do you ever feel like you’re doing too much? And when all your responsibilities collide, which ones do you priorities and why?

I don't feel like I'm doing too much because I realized time is a bit flexible.

Sometimes you have one job but you'll

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find yourself taking all your time there. And then you take another job and time will be elastic, it'll fit the other job and then even a third job, but not advisable. I don't feel like I'm doing too much. The more I keep myself busy, the less horrible I feel at the end of the day for not doing anything. I'm very horrible at prioritization. At the end of the day, sometimes if I double book and I can't fulfill one responsibility, it'll just end up with me doing nothing until it's too late to do so and feeling depressed at the end of the day. So I haven't figured out how to prioritize just yet but we're still young.

What would you say back to those seem to think you’ve ‘sold out’ by having a show on mainstream media?

No, I haven't sold out. If anyone knows anything about anything, it's not selling out. It's opportunity. If anyone thinks that I sold out, they just don't want the best for me. I wouldn't look at someone like, “Oh, you started off here but now you've got a good job and now you've sold out!” I'm still Charlie. I'm still delivering the same thing that I did on my personal nonpaid channel, but now on NRG radio, people who facilitate my madness and actually pay me for it. So it's not selling out.

It's making a living and growing.

What is the greatest challenge you’ve faced so far? How did you surmount it?

As I told you, my memory's horrible.

So the greatest challenge so far nothing comes to mind to be honest.

How do you define & measure success?

How I measure success is; if I'm doing what I feel I was made to do which is entertaining. If I'm entertaining and if I'm making content that I'm proud of then that's my measure of success.

What’s been the highest point of your career?

Definitely going for the

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Oscars with Watu Wote. That was amazing. I still can't believe it happened but that, I think, was the high point of my entire career. Going to L.A., being in the Dolby Theater, seeing all of these stars, and seeing all of this pomp and glamour. That was pretty special.

What would you tell ‘18 year old Charlie’ if you met him now?

Is there a sense of balance in your life? (Explain)

If you ever got a chance to do it all over again, what path would you pursue?

I'm not sure I understand the question but my life doesn't seem on unbalance generally.

What do you wish you were better at?

Comedy Do you feel your career has made you a better person? If so how?

I guess. Because their careers where, like a banker, who had to repossess property because of a lost loan. I feel like my career doesn't really hurt anyone, I don't do any harm to anyone. So I guess it's made me a better person.

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You're actually talented and just keep at it and don't wait for someone to employ you. You can make money all on your own. You can make a living all on your own.

I like how, as much as people are hating on Soulja Boy, he was asked if you were to do anything different would he? He said he believes that our entire lives are written out from the beginning to end, so technically he couldn't have done anything different. He’s just doing the best that he can. So I feel the same. I don't think I could have done anything differently. If I were to go back in time, I would still do the same thing I'm doing now.◊ ◊ ◊◊◊

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Conversation with Kenya’s Expressionist Virtuoso What, do you feel, is the role of an artist ?

I feel the role of an artist is to speak their mind and confront the issues he/she faces or what the society is going through, visually.

Who was your earliest inspiration, say when you were around 12 years old?

My earliest inspiration locally was Patrick Mukabi.

Internationally was Banksy, Frida Khalo and Van Gogh.

Who do you look up to now? And what’s changed in that time?

Right now, I look up to myself firstly.

I’m also fascinated by many artists I’ve found online.

What’s changed with me is that when I was young, I stuck to one type of art that was graphite. Drawing with pencil and charcoal. Now I’m receptive to many other styles such as painting, mixed media and illustrations.

Why did you choose painting as your medium?

Actually, that’s one of my mediums. I like to be fluid between traditional and digital painting. Coming back to the question, it’s very therapeutic.

Why did you choose to take up illustrator?

Because we are already in the digital times and I wanted

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to be at par with what’s happening around us.

We have the impressionists... hyperrealists... how would you categories your style?

Expressionism.

What is it all about ?

Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas.

What do you hope your work accomplishes when people see it ?

Most of my work is bright. I hope my art speaks to people who are down and people who want to enter the arts but don’t want to take the risk.

In your experience what’s the difference between goofing off, experimenting and serious work.

I’ll put goofing off and experimenting in the same caliber for me. How I learn a new style is by many trials and errors. As long as I’m seeing progress in goofing off with trials and errors, I’m happy.

Serious work comes in when I’m dealing with clients or solving my own emotional baggage. Mental health that is. With art and mental health… I find that it is a form of art therapy. A form of psychotherapy involving the encouragement of free self-expression through painting, drawing, or modelling, used as a remedial or diagnostic activity.

How do you challenge yourself when it comes to your craft ?

What goals have you set for yourself ?

I challenge myself with this quote “Life begins at the

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edge of your comfort zone “If I’ve mastered a style and I get too comfortable with it, that’s a bad sign.

I want my art to take me out of the county to see what else is beyond my reach. I want to meet other artists of different ethnicities and see what I’m missing on.

How do we tell the difference between genuine creativity and something inauthentic, when it comes to art?

Hmm, I find that genuine art is what makes the artist happy because it’s a form of release for them.

Inauthentic art to me, is when it’s done for the masses and trying to please people.

What’s been the toughest challenge you’ve had to overcome? How did it affect your perspective and work?

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Losing my mom. She was my biggest supporter. It didn’t change my perspective but actually made me a stronger person mentally. In the long-run, it shows though my work.

It’s famously difficult for artists to make a living. In your case what pays the bills when the art isn’t cutting it ?

Just my art haha. I’m lucky to have trusted myself in the art show biz and that’s actually what’s paying my bills.

What things do you tolerate about being an artist ?

Open mindedness and Everyone’s opinion/criticism.

By open mindedness I mean receptiveness to new ideas. Openmindedness relates to the way in which people approach the views and knowledge of others without any judgment.

What things do you celebrate about being an artist?

Wow there are so many things; you get to work with people from different fields of work like Photography, Culinary, Music and so many more. I love collaborative projects.

I’ve been able to work for top brands in Kenya, for example Range Rover and Smirnoff.

If you had to do it all over again what path would you pursue?

Hmm, I’d still do art and also learn how to film professionally.

What's stopping you from pursuing film now?

I’m currently in school. I’ve given my full priority to do it and as soon as I finish, which is in a month, I’ll jump onto that film bandwagon.

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Creativity has come a long way. The English passed the first copyright law in 1710 to protect the work of authors and inventors. Since then, these laws have been widely extended to include every possible type of creative work you can imagine. From painters to musicians, playwrights to songwriters, software writer and journalists, photographers and videographers the place of creatives has been cemented in every society.

While creativity has no boundaries, there is only so much people can create? Originally, at least. There are 12 chromatic notes in music, so how many different songs can there possibly be?

Take music for example. A content recognition company called Gracenote estimates that there are at least 200 million unique music tracks today. And that’s just its tally from 85 countries!

To put this into context, let’s break it down on a temporal scale. Starting in 1860, when the recording by Frenchman Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville is alleged to have been made, that makes it 159 years of creation.

That’s approximately 1,257,862 every year, or just over

2 tracks per minute! Every single minute. And the cracks are beginning to show.

Every year, there are hundreds of music copyright infringement cases made. Spotify, the largest music streaming service, had to settle a $1.6 billion infringement lawsuit in 2018. Many other musicians are caught in such legal music piracy scandals, often having to part with millions in the end. That’s just in the music world alone! Are such violations deliberate or inadvertent?

Copyright laws essentially give owners of intellectual property protection over their work. This exclusive right to use, albeit with very few limitations, allows creators to benefit monetarily from their work securely, often for a very long period of time. While it’s similar, in many way, to the protection extended to other classes of assets such as physical property, the main aim is to encourage the creation of art and culture by assuring creators of the protection of their hard wrought work. But does it, in fact, simply encourage creativity? Could copyright laws be, unintentionally, impeding creativity?

Is Copyright Stifling Creativity?

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The freedom to express artistic creativity and copyright laws may be mutually exclusive after all. To a certain degree at least. While the laws are often designed to achieve a balance between control and spurring room for creativity, the outcome is never that straightforward.

With all the copyright infringement cases hitting headlines every day, it is now clear that the copyright laws of the 20th century have collided with the digital age head-on. While technological tools have given more people the tools to expand creativity, their integration with copyright laws hasn’t created much joy for creatives.

The freedom of expression should essentially be in tandem with freedom of artistic creation. However, the reality is that the creative industry today is a cutthroat environment with people concentrating more on guarding their intellectual and aesthetic property more than creating. Even developing derivative work from one person’s content is walking on eggshells. Take the example of the Oscar-nominated 2014 historical drama, Selma: based on the civil rights movement of the mid1990s in the U.S, Dr. Martin Luther King naturally featured heavily. However, his famous words from his

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speeches couldn’t be featured; reason, Dreamworks held the copyright them, just in case they wanted to make a similar movie in the future.

Infringement litigation is now a blossomed field in law.

But where would we be if creatives didn’t have the freedom to use the work of others to make their own artistic work? Think of Morzart borrowing from Bach, and the freedom Shakespeare took with those who came before him. It is clear that many counties are in the midst of a policy dilemma in terms of copyright laws. As technology permeates through all our social norms, we need dire progressive reforms in our intellectual property frameworks to mitigate the issues the creative industry faces today. This will not only even out the balance of power in the industry, but also usher in a new golden age of health competition between artists.

Of course, the growing crisis that is piracy provides a compelling argument for the tightening of copyright laws. However, enforcing the current laws even further will only do more harm than good because the creative industry is already choking in a quagmire.

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