OYA Black Arts Coalition announces cohort for two inaugural programs
Written By Victoria Ahearn
Feb 15, 2022
The OBAC Business Affairs Boot Camp and the Scale Up Immersive include workshops and mentorship for Black-owned businesses in Canada's entertainment sector.
The OYA Black Arts Coalition (OBAC) has announced the cohort for its inaugural Business Affairs Boot Camp and for the inaugural Scale-Up Immersive, which is being launched with the Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab (CFC Media Lab) and Dark Slope.
Eleven Black-owned, mid-career film, television or digital media production companies are part of the OBAC boot camp, which runs through March and includes business-focused workshops, mentoring and networking opportunities with broadcast executives.
They include: Tony Acheampong of Anansesem Productions; Henry Amankwaah and Jamaal Bailey of HNTRS CLUB Inc; Josiane Blanc of Diversified Voices; Kathryn Fasegha of BalminGilead Movie Productions; Krystle Ferdinand of Gravitate Productions; and Cherene Francis of Cherene Francis Inc.
The boot camp list is rounded out by: Fonna Seidu of Snail Mail Media Inc.; Ryan Singh of Ryan Singh Productions Ltd; Adrian Wallace of Eh Dubbed Media; Lanette Ware-Bushfield of A WWB Production, Inc.; and Abigail Whitney, Whitney Arts & Media.
Eleven participants are also in the Scale Up Immersive, which runs until the end of April and was launched by the CFC Media Lab and OBAC, in partnership with Dark Slope. The accelerator lab for founders of Black-owned content creation companies aims to help participants increase the capacity of Black content creators and/or producers working in the immersive media space. It includes hands-on mentorship and networking opportunities, and access to Dark Slope’s state-of-the-art immersive media production facilities in Toronto.
Those participants include: Adrian Bobb of Exocentric Studios; Chukky Ibe of TRAD; Debbie Deer of Debbie Deer Productions; Kai Little-White of BP Media; Karen McDonald of Upright Media Republic; and Ladan Mohamed Siad of Fugitive Work.
The cohort also has: Natasha Vasell of Diva Girl Productions; Neil “Logik” Donaldson and Rasquiz Johnson of Reason With Logik; lens-based artist Roya DelSol; filmmaker and photojournalist Yvano Antonio; and documentary filmmaker and screenwriter Zach Jama.
Both the boot camp and the Scale Up Immersive are part of OBAC’s overall Scale Up Initiative, which also includes a Scale Up Masterclass series.
Toronto-based OBAC received a $3-million non-repayable contribution from the federal government’s Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) Ecosystem Fund, administered through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). The not-for-profit organization is dedicated to supporting Black artists, creators and entrepreneurs within Canada’s entertainment sector.
