From Creativity To Commerce: Women Shaping The Future of Arts and Entertainment

Guardian Nigeria

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00:00All right, I am seated with Tola Akerele, the Director General, National Theatre.

00:17How are you doing?

00:18I'm great.

00:19Great to be here.

00:20Great to have you.

00:22All right, so we're looking at empowering women in art, entertainment, and lifestyle.

00:26So to start with, how can industry leaders ensure equitable representation and compensation

00:31for women in creative economy?

00:35I think sometimes it's a bit of a challenge because women are just so underrepresented.

00:40But I think we as women also have to have our own voice, we have to gather ourselves

00:45and make ourselves heard to some extent.

00:47I think we need more he-for-she's as well, who can actually advance the cause.

00:53Women on merit were incredible, were amazing, but we just don't always blow our own trumpet.

01:00So I think we've got to learn to do that a bit more and to make the noise that the men

01:03are so easily able to make.

01:05But in terms of the talent, the skills, we're more than equipped to take on positions and

01:14roles and run businesses.

01:16But I think our stories are not often heard enough.

01:19All right, so women often lack access to funding and resources.

01:23So to help them during the production process of their art and creativity, what innovative

01:28financing or partnership deals can help address this?

01:32I think one thing that's always helpful is to actually have good financial literacy,

01:36understanding what it means to, when you have a business, we set up a lot of business on

01:40a small scale, but understanding what it means to scale up, understanding what it means to

01:44have real impact creating jobs.

01:46So just the information that will take us from where we are now to the next level.

01:52And we're in the world of information now.

01:54Google is there, Google is your friend.

01:57So there's so many ways in which you can actually just get information.

02:00So I think we have to be quite deliberate as women in looking for that information and

02:04using it to advance our businesses, all the things we want to do.

02:08All right, so how do mentorship and networking play a role in bridging resource gaps for

02:14creative women?

02:16I think mentorship and network plays a humongous gap.

02:24When I first started out, I didn't have what we have now.

02:27This month has been absolutely incredible.

02:29I've done so many talks already, sharing my own experience.

02:33And if I'd had this then, I think it would have been so helpful to me and all the mistakes,

02:37you kind of save yourself mistakes when you have mentors on holding your hand, they can

02:41speak to you from their own experience and then networking as well.

02:45I think that that kind of opportunity for them to be open and honest about their challenges

02:49but being real about their experiences is also amazing, that platform you can give women.

02:55So I think this event is such a wonderful platform for that, hearing from women and

03:05the networking part of it, and hopefully meeting women that can actually become mentors as

03:09well.

03:10So I think it's invaluable.

03:12So what strategies can women use to turn their creative talent into sustainable business

03:19learning?

03:21I think we have to learn to understand that our hobbies can become businesses, but we

03:28have to understand value, the value of ourselves, the time we put in.

03:32We have to start, you know, when we charge, we have to charge with the value of your input.

03:38Sometimes we don't value ourselves enough.

03:40So I think understanding that is very, very big, and when you start understanding that

03:43people then start looking at you with value, and they can then move to that next level.

03:48So how do women in art and entertainment drive cultural narratives that challenge stereotypes

03:56rather, and foster inclusiveness?

03:59I think women have so many stories to tell.

04:02I think our superpower is the fact that we're so able to multitask so easily, a lot of men

04:06can't do.

04:08We go through so much, we stay silent, but it's important that we speak out.

04:12One of the things I'm really passionate about at the National Theatre is really getting

04:18some of our literature on stage.

04:20We have amazing literature, so many amazing female writers.

04:23How can we get some of those stories out, so people can actually hear them and see them

04:27in the performing arts space?

04:30How can women, more classically, what are the most critical changes needed to foster

04:37a more equitable education system for women in art, entertainment, and lifestyle?

04:42I think we need to try and get more women at the top.

04:45Across everything, we look at politics now, we see what's happening in the media and the

04:49news, and we can see that even in the Senate that they're talking about, there's only like

04:533% of women, which is outrageous in this country.

04:56Women are such a formidable force.

04:58We need to be in places where decisions are being made, so we can actually impact those

05:02decisions, and work for women as well.

05:05Thank you so much.

05:07It's nice having you.

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