Tope Omobolanle Atitebi is a graduate of Performing Art from University of Lagos. She was spotted at an art exhibition which was part of the Ake Book Festival recently held at the June 12 Cultural Centre Abeokuta, where she displayed accessories coated in ankara fabrics. In a chat with Senior Correspondent, Segun Adeleye, the chief executive of Plush Touch, spoke on how she got into making of flops as well as her decision to midwife a project aimed at empowering theatre artists in Nigeria. Excerpts:
How did you come about using ankara fabrics to make sandals, slippers, bags and other accessories on display here?
I trained as a performing artist in Lagos State University and London Southbank University in
Tope Omobolanle Atitebi
Communications. I also did Event Planning at the University of Essex. When I came back to Nigeria in 2011, I went back into performing art and I did a lot of work with top directors in Nigeria. I just sat down one day and thought I could not be waiting for producers to call on me, rather, I should do something on my own. That period coincided with a time my aunt was planning to relocate to Nigeria from Canada. So when she came, she started making these flops. Even though I was not interested, she told me to be managing the flops for her while she travelled back to Canada. And I just found out I took to it. So I went from making ribbons to making them into ankara and from there I started thinking of making other things like you see here. And you know what; I was just teaching myself all these. I would pick up a bangle and think of how I could coat it with ankara, and I found a way round it. So I taught myself all these eventually and ideas kept coming. I have bags, accessories, ear-rings, belts and so on. At the moment I am thinking of a project for theatre artists in the country.
What is the project all about?
If you are an Artist, you just don’t focus on your Art. Yes, it is good but we need something to empower the Artists. I have seen a lot of Theatre Artists who are suffering as we speak because they have not really tapped into other things they have inside of them; they only concentrated on the Art. But when you are too hungry you compromise.
Therefore this project will help Theatre Artists get extra money apart from the one they get from doing their thing. The main purpose of the project is not to take Artists away from the Art, no, it is to find what else they can do that will complement the Art which is what I am doing here. It is part of Art. And usually when I go around to exhibit, I usually find places where there is art event like book and art festival or where there is play going on. So I am there first as an Artist and also as exhibitor. Last year I was at Terracouture when a play was going on and people who came to see the play said why I was not telling them about this aspect of art. I told them that I am an Artist first and the other one is an addendum. So whatever I am doing is to complement the art.
What is the project called?
It is called ‘theatre-preneurship’. And it is aimed at empowering our Aheatre Artists to get extra income in order to live a good life and have something to fall back on.
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