Terra Academy boosts creative industry with first cohort

In 2021, Terra Academy for the Arts (TAFTA) was launched with the mission to up-skill 65,000 underserved Nigerian youths through innovative creative education and practical training strategically designed by handpicked experts in the creative industry.

TAFTA, a provider of world-class creative education, career support, and entrepreneurial opportunities, designed the initial programme to run for six weeks, with an additional two-week practical workshop designed to ensure the hands-on application of the course materials.

On February 10, 2023, the Nigerian creative industry received a huge boost as TAFTA graduated its first cohort of desirous youths who were trained across some empowering skills such as sound design, stage lighting, animation, and scriptwriting.

The skills training, which were free of charge, were all incorporated with entrepreneurship modules to enable the underserved Nigerian youth participants to become self-reliant.

The ceremony, which was held at Terra Kulture Arena, Victoria Island, Lagos, witnessed the conferment of degrees to almost two thousand students who successfully completed its rigorous program on relevant skills in theatre arts and entrepreneurship.

The uniqueness of the training is the adoption of an innovative curriculum with specialized courses that will ensure hands-on experience for the graduates., leaving the Nigerian creative industry with a pool of skills across sound design, stage lighting, animation, and scriptwriting.

Sharing her experience, Dorcas, a participant in the first cohort’s script writing class, noted that she has been trained now to write marketable scripts.

“The challenge I had was how to make my scripts sellable. I am now trained and I have confidence to pitch my works, negotiate and get better contracts. I have some works now approved and paid for by clients,” Dorcas said.

For Adesokan Segun Yusuf, a fashion designer, and participant in the first TAFTA cohort, acquiring a new skill in Stage Lighting has opened a huge opportunity for him in the Nigerian movie industry.

“I did Stage Lighting and it is a huge skill that will open doors for me in the movie industry. I appreciate all my facilitators, especially Yemi Light for his mentorship”, he said.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Bolanle Austen-Peters, founder, TAFTA, described her motivation for the creative academy’s establishment and congratulated the graduates on a well-deserved accomplishment.

“The dream of TAFTA is a story of possibilities. It was during the pandemic when industries were shutting down and few were harder hit than the creative industry, that we realized how important it is for us to use our creativity to create wealth,” she said.

“As Terra Kulture, we trained hundreds of talents each year who have become superstars in their respective fields, an opportunity we wanted to extend to the greater public.”

Austin-Peter explained further that TAFTA was established as a gateway to impacting the lives of young Nigerians.

“The training we provide allows our graduates to build their entrepreneurial skillsets, ensuring that they are capable of providing for themselves and their families. I am very delighted that what was thought impossible has been made possible. My sincere congratulations to our graduates today who have taken the next steps to transform their lives,” she added.

Excited at the development, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, in his speech at the ceremony, spoke on the long-term impact of TAFTA’s programme on national development.

“Nigeria’s creative industry is the new crude oil. Today, Nigeria has taken the world by storm and found itself in the global space, be it through music, movies, fashion, literature, or theatre. As Nigeria’s population comprises a 70 percent youth demographic, many of whom are unemployed or underemployed, TAFTA could not come at a more auspicious time,” the minister said.

“I can say with conviction that TAFTA is contributing its quota to the efforts to solve the unemployment crisis in Nigeria. I also want to congratulate the graduates and admonish them to make the best use of this rare opportunity afforded to them.

“TAFTA continues to be a partner of progress and its efforts are impressive and highly commendable. The Ministry looks forward to exploring greater means of partnerships with TAFTA to extend their invaluable training across the length and breadth of Nigeria”.

In his remarks at the event, Duro Oni, a retired professor and president, Nigerian Academy of Letters, congratulated the graduates for making it to the end, while urging them to persevere as the graduation was the beginning of more things to come.

He commended Mastercard and BAP for helping young people to pursue their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs in the creative industry.

Femi Odugbemi, an award-winning Nigerian filmmaker, noted that Terra Kulture has produced some of the biggest creative brands and personalities in Nigeria like the Apollo Theatre of America.

“You are getting not just a certificate, or skills, but a brand which means you have to live up to the standard and quality of creativity at Terra Kulture,” Odugbemi charged the first cohort of TAFTA.

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Other dignitaries at the event including; Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, actress; Deyemi Okanlawon, actor; Mike Afolarin, actor, among other key players in the industry, charged the graduates to make good use of the skills, while commending TAFTA and MasterCard for the partnership.

Some notable alumni from the academy include Moshood Fattah, best known for his role as ‘Michael’ in Netflix’s hit series “Far From Home”; Queen Celestine, Theatre performer and Miss Nigeria Universe 2014, and Bunmi Olunloyo, actor, dancer, and fitness instructor.

It would be recalled that in 2022, TAFTA expanded its offerings with the announcement of the opening of six physical learning centers for the benefit of students who lacked access to the internet, electricity, or compatible devices. The academy also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Screenwriters Guild of Nigeria (SWGN) to strengthen the support offered to students by easing the admission process into the professional guild.

Meanwhile, TAFTA’s training programme is set to receive its 2nd cohort of students with the recent announcement of its reopened admissions portal. The academy has urged interested parties located in Lagos, Ogun, and Kano states to submit their application for the free programme on their website www.terraacademyforarts.com. Requiring only a senior secondary school qualification, the primarily e-learning-based courses will impart relevant skills needed to succeed as professionals in the creative industry.