The Potters Gallery Initiative has organized a creative boot camp for improving market access for persons with disabilities (PWD) in Abuja.
Its Creative Director, Donald Unanka, said the objective of the creative boot camp, which was supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is to build the capacity of persons with disabilities in the creative industry.
He said it was important to build their capacity to ensure they participate in the creative industry effectively.
Unanka said, “We don’t want society to relate with us out of pity. We do not want a pity party. So building capacity is very important. Honing the skills of our members in the creative industry is what we are set out to do here today.
“The take home is that they are going to understand the industry properly. They would understand the entire ecosystem and also know how to engage and also understand the market. It is important they understand the dynamics of the market you are in.”
A participant, Comfort Ekwo, commended the initiative.
She said, “I am a theatre artist. Basically I act, model and do TV and radio presentations. I am a storyteller. I run an NGO too. I am taking home a lot from here. As I came here, briefly I have gotten an open mind to what I do because what we do, we limit ourselves, but when you come you learn from people who have been so experienced. You learn from other people’s experiences. What they do, how they do it and how they are able to expand their creatives. I have really learnt a lot. I cannot start explaining bit by bit now.”
Another participant and fashion shop owner, Mary Jane Okeke, said “It is a market access issue. I am here to be able to penetrate my market and be able to deliver my goods in a way that my consumers would assess it in a way that it would not have issues, to be convenient and easy to me and my customers”