Taiwo Aina: A Product Of SSCE Entrepreneurial Course, Balanced By Smart Work

LEADERSHIP Books & Arts sat down with the Winner of the 2024 Women Photography Grant, Taiwo Aina said she is a product of the secondary school ‘entrepreneurial courses’ balanced by smart work.

25-year-old Taiwo Aina’s came to the limelight with her first solo exhibition ‘Women In Sports’, a spin-off of a two-weeks art residency project with a French researcher sponsored by Alliance Francais, Lagos. Sensing the project required further exploration, she applied for Women Photography Grant which awarded her project ‘Game of Confidence’ a $5000 grant.

Game of Confidence looked at four professional women/girl boxers who box for various reasons – one, to boost her confidence which suffered badly from being bullied as a young child, the second to lose weight, another to make an extra income, and the last to be a superstar.

The project catapulted her to the world stage, which saw her exhibition published in Guardian UK. Between 2022 and 2024, her commissioned works featured in Guardian UK, CNN and New York Times.

However, these wouldn’t have been possible had she not signed up for a photography course during her Senior Secondary School. In fact, she had opted for a tailoring class but switched to photography because she couldn’t paddle the machine.

From the onset, she found the class interesting and fun. They were taught the history and basics of photography. However, to practice what she learnt in class, she borrowed iPhone camera from friends to embark on short street photography outing in her neighbourhood and post them on her Instagram.

However, she wasn’t earning any income with street photography. “I would end up photographing friends without being paid. What I got out of that was getting people’s consent to shoot and use their images for my Instagram posts.”

Determined that her passion earns her a living, she began networking with professional documentary photographers, who advised her to develop personal projects. Not long after, she participated in a pitchathon event at the University of Ilorin. Although she didn’t win, she was gifted a camera by a jury member.

The onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020, proved an opportunity for her to take online classes on photography, and by 2021, she participated in the art residency.

“I don’t come from an artsy family. So, from day one (in SS1), I was passionate about what I was doing. But passion is not enough. Hard work and smart work are what matters. They are the bulk of what constituted my growth.

“Smart work is a meeting of hard work and networking. It comes when you use your network to push your works out to the right people to see them.

“I would register for portfolio review classes and network directly with the editors. These same editors are the ones that will refer commissioned works to you in the future. I also reach out to the best documentary photographers, with questions on how to elevate my images.”

Today, Aina earns good pay to supports herself and her parents, who are very proud of her accomplishments.

“I wasn’t the sole female in the photography class at school, but I am one of the few in the class still practicing today. Since the day I started classes at SS1, I never asked them for money for anything regarding photography. It’s not that they won’t support me. They have watched me grow from that stage to where I am today. They are happy and grateful to have me and my identical twin. They are also used to my travelling and simply pray for journey mercies whenever I am on the road.”

With the grant, she aims to expand on the documentary project Game of Confidence, which is set to be a book.

“You can’t be done with documentary project unless it’s like a day in the life of a subject you are addressing or a short topic on something. Ever since I finished the residency in 2022, I thought there was more to the subject. I had only spent a week with them to produce Game of Confidence. I wanted to explore the personal lives of these boxers. What is their reality? What else do they do besides boxing? How do they compete in the local matches? What is life like besides boxing? And how do they relate with their families as boxers? I look forward to publishing this as a book.”

Her creative process begins with curiosity. Curiosity about underreported stories, as well as stories about women and motherhood. She picks topic and searches for themes related to her subject. In the process, she creates a mood board – where she looks at works done by others related to the subject and their approaches to it. Next, she maps out the project venue, followed by seeking out access to her story.

“Access is the most important part because without it, there is no story to tell. You have to have a fixer or do it yourself. Access can take a month or lesser.” Post access, is the shooting. After shooting, she shares her images with friends, if it’s a personal project for feedback.

“With commissioned projects you already have your access via the project brief they have given you.”

On her journey thus far, the budding photographer says she has learnt a lot. From the fact that feminine women like and do box, to being patient and listening to her subjects, to learning to share her own stories with her subjects, as a means of earning their trust to share more with her. And on instances where they don’t want sensitive conversations or their stories shared, she respects that, or find ways to around to avoid violating their privacy or trust.

She’s also faced challenges that turned into career lessons for her, such as the time she lost a friend’s home in 2022, in a Maruwa in Kano where they had gone to cover Durbar Festival, and had to give her Canon camera in exchange, and when she nearly lost her camera covering the 2023 General Election.

“I had to double my hustle to get him a new camera. It wasn’t easy but I was able to buy the Fuji Film camera I am using at the moment.”