Pinkorange meets..
Austine Osayi Osawe Turay
You told us about a documentary you want to make
I grew up in Nigeria, where you have a lively barbershop and hair salon culture. There are people who spend their entire day in the barbershop. If you are in a hurry, you just know you have to tell them you can’t wait that long, otherwise there might be a chance you’re still there at 7 o’clock in the evening. However it’s a really interesting place, where people meet and talk about everything.
In what way do you still feel connected to Nigeria?
I was born in Benin City, before I moved to the Netherlands on my 12th. Nigeria feels like my home, just like the Netherlands. That’s why I want to create things there, connect Dutch and Nigerian youth culture.
I feel lucky that I had the chance to go to the Netherlands, meet certain people, go to interesting places. That’s what I want to share with other people, I want to give them that chance too. I know that there are a lot of great people there, creative and smart minds, who do really cool things without a lot of support. I feel that with just that little extra support they can be brought to a new level. That’s what I want to accomplish, give them the chance I got and share experiences.
Is sharing knowledge part of creativity?
Yes, it’s the most important thing of being creative. You have a lot of gatekeepers nowadays. However, I think that being a creative is showing other people how you work, and you can elevate each other's work, together. Show them you’re not competitors. Learn from and inspire each other.
