How Tope Akintayo is building Witsprouts to foster a deeper engagement in African arts and culture

Across its various industries, African arts and culture have been experiencing a renaissance over the past few years. From internal pride to international acceptance and glorification, the continent’s cultural outputs are no longer as undervalued as they used to be.

Many African visual artists like Oluwole Omofemi and El Anatsui now feature in top exhibitions internationally, bagging coveted commissioning roasters, and raking in millions at auction.

Music from Africa, from Afrobeats to Amapiano, now enjoy respected positions in the worldwide music scene, with artists headlining major concerts and the push for mainstream music awards creating dedicated categories for music genres from the continent. Literature from Africa or by Africans is also on steroids, case in point Nnedi Okorafor’s recent 7-figure publishing deal with William Morrow.

With these record growth, however, there is still a long way to go in the process of infusing the ever-expanding catalogue of arts and cultural output from Africa into a wider social consciousness and applause.

This is the premise that a new crop of cultural players like Tope Akjntayo are trying to fill up. Tope has always been fascinated by the stories and perspectives of African artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and other cultural producers.

However, he noticed that there is still a gap in the representation and appreciation of African arts and culture in mainstream media. He felt that there is a need for more platforms that would showcase the depth and diversity of African culture, as well as create a space for dialogue and collaboration among African creatives and their audiences.

“I wanted to create something that would celebrate the beauty and complexity of African arts and culture, something that would challenge the stereotypes and misconceptions that often plague the continent. I wanted to create something that would inspire people to learn more about Africa, to connect with its people, and to appreciate its art,” he says.

In 2018, Tope Akintayo started a personal development blog interviewing notable change makers and recording their stories to inspire change within communities of young people. The next year, the platform, named Witsprouts, began to evolve into a full-fledged storytelling hub, publishing its first short story anthology, The Year of Free Birds, curated by Basit Jamiu. In 2020, Witsprouts published a collection of stories about the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, curated by Tope himself. Over the years, Witsprouts is growing to become a multi-platform project that aims to foster a deeper engagement in African arts and culture.

Witsprouts is registered under the Corporate Affairs Commission as Witsprouts Global Ltd and it’s structured into 6 impact channels including hospitality & tourism, capacity development, events and community gatherings, morale empowerment, and commerce. Some of these channels are already functioning. The media & publishing channel, for example, is made up of platforms like Moveee Media, which is dedicated to capturing and celebrating the creative renaissance and cultural flourishing of the African and Black diasporan community, and Witsprouts Anthologies, dedicated to providing a dynamic platform to nurture, amplify, and celebrate world-class literary talent. Witsprouts Anthologies has published two anthologies in the past four years and is set to publish a new fiction anthology titled Love Grows Stronger in Death in 2024.

To deepen the reach of its efforts, Witsprouts Anthologies enlisted a 5-member advisory council in June. According to the project’s website, the council was formed “to guide the project’s direction, ensuring the highest standards of literary excellence and it’s comprised of prominent people from the fields of literature, publishing, cultural management, and entrepreneurship who will guide and support this mission.” The members of the council include Sada Malumfashi, director of Open Arts Development Foundation; Basit Jamiu, a senior editor at Legit; Quramo Writing Prize winner Ibrahim Babatunde Ibrahim; Tobi Eyinade, co-founder of Roving Heights; and editor and doctoral researcher Tochi Eze.

Tope Akintayo says that one of the main challenges he is facing as he builds Witsprouts is finding the right balance between quality and quantity. He wanted to create high-quality platforms that would reflect his vision and values, but he also wanted to reach a wide and diverse audience. He says that he had to learn how to manage his time and resources effectively and collaborate with other creatives who share his passion.

“I learned that building a platform like Witsprouts is not a solo endeavour. There is a need for collaboration, clear and efficient communication, 360-degree feedback from all stakeholders, and constant improvement based on the feedbacks. I am grateful for the incredible writers, artists, editors, and community managers who have contributed to Witsprouts so far. They are the reason Witsprouts is taking the shape it’s currently taking.” he says.

Tope Akintayo’s ambition for Witsprouts is to make it the foremost enabler of African arts and culture. Witsprouts, he hopes, will serve as a source of inspiration, education, and empowerment for Africans and non-Africans that come across its offerings.

“I believe that African arts and culture have so much to offer to the world. There is potential to transform minds, hearts, and societies; heal wounds, bridge gaps, ignite change; and change the way we perceive ourselves and others. That is why I created Witsprouts. That is why I am building Witsprouts,” he says.