Last October, Sinat Giwa left her full-time job in retail management and started taking on small projects for friends, including photo and video shoots. She discovered that she had a knack for helping entrepreneurs express their passion for the arts.
“I saw it as a fun thing that I could do and a way to apply my unique skill sets,” says the Nigerian and Ghanaian, Chicago-born entrepreneur, whose interests range from marketing and artist development to manufacturing and tech. “It sounds like I have a lot of different interests, but they aren’t so different. It all makes sense.”
Giwa’s main gig is promoting HOVR, a fitness device that keeps your legs moving while you’re sitting down. Based in New York, she is the perfect voice for the company. She doesn’t just explain that researchers have shown it’s a great way to burn extra calories. She makes using it seem like a whole lot of fun.
Her side hustle? Helping creative companies develop their brands while staying true to their values and visions. Lately, Giwa has been working closely with two artist collectives, Local Creative and Afripedia.
The WeWork member currently serves as a brand and content manager for Local Creative, an online platform that presents the works of artists and highlights their creative process. She helps curate collaborative lifestyle projects with Jenna Saraco and Nicole Steriovski.
“With Local Creative, I can take a step back and be like, ‘What does this look like? What details can I add to this?’” Giwa says. “I can be more dramatic and hype up the artistic, visionary side of me.”
Through her involvement in Afripedia, Giwa adds her expertise to a platform that showcases African creatives working around the world. She works directly with two Ethiopian and Eritrean filmmakers, Teddy Goitom and Senay Berhe.
Afripedia is currently working on a five-part documentary series on artists, animators, and writers in Africa and the diaspora. It’s also adding new features on its website that will allow creative people in Africa and the diaspora to use it as a way to build their portfolios. These features will debut in September.
“It’s amazing to work with so many diverse artists—everything from Senegalese dancers who showcase their moves in virtual reality, to Angolan Kuduro rap crews, to Kenyan video game programmers,” Giwa says.
Photos: Lauren Kallen