I am grateful to be part of the 2023 cohort of the Building Beyond Mentorship Program by Prince Claus Fund:

We are pleased to announce the 12 artists who will be reimagining the future of their cities through design and creative problem-solving as part of the Building Beyond mentorship programme in 2023.

The 12 selected artists come from 9 countries and work in a wide range of design fields including architecture, urbanism, digital design, visual arts, photography, research and performance. They will be guided by four mentors who are experts in architecture, art and design: artist, architect, critical space practitioner from Sudan, Ola Hassanain; architectural researcher, designer, and performer from South Africa, Khensani Jurczok-de Klerk; curator and cultural practitioner from Morocco Hicham Bouzid; a co-founder of WOROFILA, a collective of architects and engineers from Senegal & Cameroon Nzinga B. Mboup.

The artists will work on projects that re-imagine the future of public space, community and functionality in their own contexts. The program aims to foster thought leadership, promote criticality, reframe design-based practices, and contribute to an ongoing conversation on how creative practices rooted in locality and community can lead to new perspectives and promote transformative urban agendas.

I plan to grow my Nigeria of my Dreams project during the mentorship year but ultimately am just excited to be in fellowship with amazing artists and designers from across the continent.