I am the founder of DBÅ 11205, a sustainable product design brand that exists at the intersection of fashion, art and design. The brand's ethos is to bridge various forms of art to reimagine classic fashion designs in the current space; with slow fashion at its core items are seasonless, genderless and multiuse. As a first generation student of Nigerian parents, my journey began as a child growing up in Brooklyn, New York. I like to tell people that fashion was the first form of art that I fell in love with, and while this is true I believe a lot of my inspiration lies in growing up in a neighborhood filled with many people of the African diaspora, people who were artists, musicians and filmmakers, as well as lawyers, doctors, teachers and quite frankly, everyday people who worked hard to provide for their families. Being surrounded by so many people who looked like me and worked hard to help our community thrive has always served as motivation. The journey to launching the brand has been long and arduous, with many trials and tribulations, peaks and valleys. Building the brand this past year has taught me that entrepreneurship is both challenging and rewarding. The day to day operations of setting up and running a business can be overwhelming as it involves many small details and tasks. Additionally, building a team that shares the vision of the brand and company as a whole is not always easy. Nevertheless, the work is rewarding - being able to see a design through from ideation to completion is an amazing feeling and I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to create and share my artistic endeavors with the world. The lessons that I have learned so far are that it is important to communicate effectively and share my concerns with all of the suppliers and manufacturers that I work with, if I am not honest and direct in expressing my thoughts about something it could potentially lead to a low quality product which in turn affects the customer’s or end user’s opinion of the brand. Also, practicing patience and understanding that it takes time to build a business is a lesson that I have learned, especially throughout the pandemic when I had no choice but to recognize that the entire world was on pause in one way or another. I am motivated to succeed when I think about the sacrifices that others before me made in order for me to be successful. To that end I am interested in entrepreneurship because I believe that it is a great way to build familial and generational wealth as well as give back to my own community and other communities of color. A business is an entity that I can share and develop with my family, and pass on to future generations. Also, I believe that my entrepreneurial vision can contribute to the betterment of society as a whole. This fall I will begin a master’s program in Culture Studies; it is through this program that I seek to explore the influence of West African cultures and subcultures in contemporary art and design, fashion and digital media. Considering the cost of attendance, the Elevate Black Entrepreneurs Scholarship would help me financially matriculate through masters studies. I appreciate the opportunity to apply and be considered for the Elevate Black Entrepreneurs Scholarship.

My mother has suffered from bipolar disorder my entire life. When I was younger, it was never shared with me in child friendly language, actually it was rarely talked about at all, but it was evident in her absence when she was a patient in psychiatric wards or treatment centers. As an adolescent it showed up as my mother not being able to attend graduations or any events for fear that she would “make a scene”, and when asked, I made excuses as to why she was not present. And as an adult it has forced me to reflect and do the work of unpacking the impact that my mother’s mental health has had on my life and the lives of my siblings. Even so, I have used these experiences as motivation to advance personally and professionally. After earning an undergraduate degree, I joined the Teach for America program where as a Mississippi Delta Corps member, I worked as an educator, focused on achieving educational equity. I hoped that as a person of color I could represent possibility for the students I taught, students who looked like me and lived in extreme poverty. To that end, now, my ideals are grander and exist outside of solely the domain of education. I believe that every human should have access to adequate food, water, shelter, healthcare and education. This fall I will begin a master’s program in cultural studies where I plan to focus the next phase of my studies and career on human rights, concentrating on migrants and refugees groups. It tends to be forgotten that they do not have immediate access to social services and in many cases suffer from trauma or traumatic experiences in relocation, acculturation and assimilation which can lead to mental health struggles, mental illness and in extreme cases self harm and death. I hope to serve as an advocate for marginalized people and I believe that the resilience that I have learned through my mother’s mental illness as well as my work with impoverished youth will serve as a solid foundation in being successful at such. The Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship would help me achieve my goal to do the work to advocate for people who have been othered and marginalized, as so many people who suffer from mental health struggles have been. Having been affected first hand I understand the need to have conversation and dialogue as well as take constructive action to make sure that systems are in place to support people when they need it. I appreciate the opportunity to apply to the Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship and I intend to use the scholarship to gain the knowledge that will allow me to be impactful and supportive of those who need it most.

Over the past ten years I have had the privilege of working in film, theater, design, and fashion. Last year, I founded Fort Greene Projects, a sustainable product design, creative and production agency. The mission of the organization is to encourage meaningful discourse on the current and future states of the world by means of art and experiences. But more importantly, the organization is centered in creating product, content and media that tells the stories of persons who have been othered and marginalized, focusing on social change, advocacy, activism and environmental justice. The agency’ first offering, the brand DBA 11205, exists at the intersections of product, art and design. The brand's ethos is to bridge various forms of art to reimagine classic fashion designs in the current space; with slow, sustainable fashion at its core items are seasonless, genderless and multiuse. Through a multidisciplinary approach I intend to incorporate the art forms of film, photography, dance, literature and graphic design to tell the visual story of the brand. Furthermore, I hope that the work builds community through collaboration with artists and creatives around the world. It is with these goals in mind that I seek the support of Grind Arts Company and the Make Your Mark BIPOC Arts Scholarship for a short film that I intend to produce and direct. The short film would be released in tandem with the brand’ summer collection and combines movement, dance and fashion, and through the medium of film would visually illustrate the story of a nostalgic, summer love. As a Nigerian American, I believe that there is undoubtedly a need to amplify the voices of people of color and marginalized groups as we have the ability to tell our own stories with honesty and authenticity rather than through the lens of biases and stereotypes. To that end, I also believe that the moving image allows for people to see themselves in others, to relate, and to, in turn, empathize. When we see that people who are unlike us have similar triumphs and failures we tend to feel a sense of connection and understand that we as human beings are actually more alike than unalike - film is the perfect medium to explore the themes that connect us. Furthermore I hope to share my platform with other artists who have committed themselves to their crafts, specifically my peers who are dancers that have worked tirelessly to become better and to succeed in creating meaningful art. I intend to work with independent dancers as well as a dance company to bring the idea to fruition. I appreciate that opportunity to apply to the Grind Art Company’ Make Your Mark BIPOC Arts Scholarship and thank you for your consideration. In addition to the essay I am also attaching a link of a film I co-directed, please be advised that it contains nudity. Many thanks.