WCW - Women of Rubies

In Inspiration May 27, 2020 By Editor

#WCW| Celebrating Njideka Crosby Akunyili

Hello WORriors, it’s #WomanCrushWednessday, and our Woman Crush is Njideka Crosby Akunyili!

Born in Enugu, Nigeria, Akunyili Crosby is a visual artist based in Los Angeles, California. She was just 10 years old, when she moved to, Lagos, to attend one of the country’s most prestigious boarding schools, Queens College. With this, her first taste of a multicultural – the Nigerian, British, and American popular culture was born, which contributed to the similarities between her work and the work of pop-culture artists.

It is interesting to note that she is the daughter of the late Dora Akunyili who was the Director-General of the National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control of Nigeria (NAFDAC). Even with a well known mother in Nigeria, Akunyili Crosby has made a name for herself by clearly taking her part in the artistic world. She has won multiple award an today, her name is known not only in Nigeria, but in the United States and other parts of the world as well.

A portrait of Ms. Akunyili Crosby with layered images, made in collaboration with the artist.

A portrait above of Ms. Akunyili Crosby with layered images, made in collaboration with the artist. Photo: Photo And Illustration: Maxine Helfman For The Wall Street Journal.

She adds photo transfers and fabrics to bring in different aspects such as hair styles, fashions, architecture, and furnishings from the two cultures.

Predecessors (left panel), 2013, Acrylic, transfers, colored pencil and charcoal on paper, 7 ft. × 7 ft.

Predecessors (right panel), 2013, Acrylic, transfers, colored pencil and charcoal on paper, 7 ft. × 7 ft.

Akunyili Crosby studied biology and art at Swarthmore College, where she met her husband and fellow artist Justin Crosby. She pursued her MFA at Yale, which is when her artistic breakthrough occurred.

“The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born” Might Not Hold True For Much Longer, 2013, Acrylic and transfers on paper, 5.5 ft. × 7 ft. Courtesy of the artist

She adds colourful paint, fabrics, acrylic, photos, cut-outs from Nollywood films, advertisements, and Nigerian fashion magazines, to create vibrant paintings and collages that dance across the borders of her different identities. She is influenced by writer Chinua Achebe who brings the English language to fit his culture. In an interview with W Magazine, Akunyili Crosby explained that she uses an approach similar to Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, who sometimes portrays characters speaking in their own dialects, which remains untranslated, you need to search for its true meaning by yourself, something also similar to what Chimamanda Adichie books does.

In her work, Akunyili Crosby cracks English and uses it to create a transcultural, syncretic space.

We celebrate Njideka Akunyili Crosby.

In Inspiration April 29, 2020 By Editor

#WCW | Celebrating Peace Hyde

Hello WORriors, it’s our #WomanCrushWednessday, and our Woman Crush is Peace Hyde!

Peace Hyde is a British Ghanaian education activist, media entrepreneur and motivational speaker. She is the founder of Aim Higher Africa, a non-profit organization. She is also the Head of digital media and partnerships and West African correspondent for leading business magazine Forbes Africa.

Hyde was born and raised in London, where she lived until 2015, before she relocated to Ghana. During her early years in London, she briefly practiced as a child psychologist before embarking on a career as a science teacher specializing in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

A first class graduate of psychology from Middlesex University she found the time to acquire two masters, an MA in Communication and digital media and Masters in Journalism from the London school of Journalism.

In 2018, she was shortlisted among 200 leaders as part of the Obama Foundation Africa Leaders program and in 2019, was awarded the African Social Impact award at the House of Parliament, House of Commons in the UK.

The Africa most celebrated TV personality is recognized for her talent and skill in broadcasting which has enabled her to work with top brands like EIB, Forbes and others.

Recently, she won the Africa Achievers award, as well as Obama Foundation Leaders Africa Fellowship.

She reportedly came into the media limelight in 2013, and at her age, has continued to shine in making her work recognized in Ghana, Africa and the world at large.

Women of Rubies Celebrates you, Peace Hyde!

In Inspiration February 19, 2020 By Editor

WCW | Our Woman Crush Wednessday is Juliet Ehimaun

Juliet Ehimuan is an expert and entrepreneur who currently serves as Google‘s Country Manager in Nigeria.

In August 2011, she was listed in Forbes ‘ “20 Youngest Power Women In Africa.”

According to London Business School Reviews she is one of 30 People Who Are Changing the World, according to London Business School Review.

Below is a brief profile of her by London Business review

Juliet Ehimuan wants to raise human dignity by helping to develop human capacity and create opportunities for growth. But Ehimuan is not a charity boss or a UN chief. As Country Director of Google Nigeria, she’s a global tech leader whose contributions to technology and entrepreneurship have won her multiple awards and recognition, including being named one of Forbes’ 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa and featuring in the third series of the BBC Women of Africa strand, Power Women.

She is a member of the London Business School Global Women’s Scholarship. In 2012, she won the “IT Personality of the Year” at the 2012 National Information Technology Merit Award.

We love you!

In self development November 15, 2017 By Editor

#WCW: CELEBRATING NSE IKPE ETIM

Hello WORriors, today is #WomanCrushWednesday and our Woman Crush is Nse Ikpe Etim!

Nse Ikpe-Etim (born 1974) is a Nigerian actress. She came into prominence in 2008 for her role in Reloaded. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 5th and 8th Africa Movie Academy Awards for her role in Reloaded and Mr. and Mrs. respectively. In 2014, she won the Best Actress in a Drama award at the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for playing “Nse” in Journey to Self.

Etim was born on the 21st of October 1974 in Lagos. She is the first of six children. She attended Awa Nursery School and Command Primary School in Kaduna State, from where she then furthered her studies at St Louis College, Jos and the Federal Government Colleges in Jos and Ilorin. She said that her family was often transferred to various regions of Nigeria due to her father’s career with the Central Bank of Nigeria. She got her first degree in Theater Arts from the University of Calabar.

In an interview with Toolz, she stated that she had Caucasian Godparents. She got married to her childhood friend, Clifford Sule, on February 14, 2013 at a Lagos registry. A traditional wedding ceremony followed in her hometown in Akwa Ibom State and Lagos State respectively, some months after the civil union. She currently resides in London with her husband, a Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University who frequents Nigeria for film engagements.

At 18, Etim started acting on stage at the university. Her first television appearance was in the family soap Inheritance. After her graduation from university she temporarily left the film industry to venture in other endeavors before making a comeback with Emem Isong’s Reloaded alongside Ramsey Nouah, Rita Dominic, Ini Edo, and Desmond Elliot.

Nse has featured in quite a number of movies. Some of them are, Emotional Crack, Memories of My Heart, Kiss and Tell, Phone Swap, Mr. and Mrs, The Meeting, Journey to Self, Black November, Broken, The Visit, Fifty, Stalker, American Driver, etc.

She has also been nominated and won many awards and recognition.

Women Of Rubies celebrates you, Nse Ipke Etim!

In self development June 7, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

#WCW: CELEBRATING ADESUA ETOMI!

Adesua has featured in quite a number of films, including, The Arbitration, The Wedding Party, and Falling. Her performance in Falling earned her the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award for Best Actress In A Drama. Other notable films she has appeared in include A Soldier’s Story (2015), Out of Luck (2015), and Couple of Days (2016). She also played Shiela in the fourth and fifth seasons of Shuga, a television soap opera about HIV/AIDS, among others.

Adesua Etomi also has lots of awards and nominations to her name.

Women of Rubies celebrates you, sweet Adesua ‘Susu’ Etomi!

In Interviews&profile January 18, 2017 By Editor

#WCW | CELEBRATING SALAWA ABENI, THE QUEEN OF FUJI MUSIC

Salawa Abeni Alidu born on May 5, 1961, is a well known Nigerian vocalist. An Ijebu Yoruba from Ijebu Waterside, in Ogun State, she started her expert vocation in waka music when she discharged her presentation collection, Late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, in 1976, on Leader Records. It turned into the primary recording by a female craftsman to offer over a million duplicates in Nigeria.

Abeni kept recording for Leader until 1986, when she finished an association with the record label owner, Lateef Adepoju. She wedded Kollington Ayinla and joined his record name rather, remaining with him until 1994.

She was delegated “Queen of Waka Music” by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi in 1992. Waka is an Islamic-impacted, customary Yoruba music style, promoted by Batile Alake; it is a much more established kind than jùjú and fuji.
She is tagged a heroine to many women because of her lyrics, which are highly critical of the way they have been treated by their men. She is said to have popularised a new style of Yoruba music, heavily influenced by traditional songs and dominated by thunderous drumming, which of course never swamps her even more gutsy vocals.
She is highly respected for finding her grounds and becoming relevant in a men-dominated industry in the 70s. How can we not crush on her?