*The ARA Awards 2024 was truly another night to remember for delivering on a promise full of chillaxation, and inspirational speech by Prof. Grace Mbabazi on the theme AFRICA ARISE! and networking opportunities at the Hilton Hotel, Kensington, West London UK.
The Building Blocks Initiative, organizing the annual Achievement Recognition Awards 2024 which is in its 21st year, announced winners including EURWEB.COM Cartoon contributor TAYO Fatunla. He was honored with the Professional Creative Cartoonist of the Year award.
TAYO Fatunla, Comic Artist, Editorial Cartoonist, Writer, and Illustrator and Historian was raised in Nigeria where he began his cartooning career as a teenager, working for various newspapers magazines, and websites.
An artist of the African diaspora, TAYO is a graduate of the prestigious Joe Kubert School, in Dover, New Jersey, US, and recipient of the 2018 ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award for his illustrated OUR ROOTS creation and series – Famous people in Black History.
An active creative community man, TAYO Fatunla designed and illustrated the Camberwell Black History Walk map that tracks plaques of local Black British trailblazers erected at Camberwell Green Park in South East London. His body of work over the years, spans various mediums and platforms, showcasing his versatility and his commitment to documenting and celebrating Black history. TAYO Fatunla has been involved in several notable projects beyond his OUR ROOTS series.
The BBI’s annual Awards has become a much-anticipated event within the Black and Minority Ethnic business and social calendar, bringing about community and industrial recognition, professional networking opportunities, social celebration, and a spirit of togetherness. Among the dignitaries also present were Cllr Naima Ali, the Worshipful Mayor of Southwark past Southwark Mayor Cllr Michael Situ while Cllr sunny Lambe the current Deputy Mayor of Southwark played the co-host with Ms Priscilla Nwikpo. Among other very important guests were Prince Mike Abiola of the African Voice, and Femi Okutubo founder of both the GAB Awards and the Trumpet Newspapers. The evening event never fails to deliver on its promise of providing a most chillaxing night for all. The annual autumn ARA Awards is organized by the Building Blocks Initiative (BBI) a charitable community voluntary support organization founded in 2001 with a mission of promoting “community development and empowerment.”
TAYO Fatunla whose work has been featured on MSN.com via EURweb.com is an award-winning British-Nigerian Comic Artist, Editorial Cartoonist, Writer, and Illustrator and is an artist of the African diaspora. He is a graduate of the prestigious Kubert School, in New Jersey, US, and recipient of the ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award for his illustrated OUR ROOTS creation and series – Famous people in Black History – He participated at UNESCO’s Cartooning In Africa forum held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the Cartooning Global Forum in Paris, France and has held a virtual OUR ROOTS cartoon workshop for SMITHSONIAN- National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C. His Fela Kuti image is prominently featured in Burna Boy’s mega-Afrobeat hit song “Ye”. – TAYO is the illustrator behind the pictorial Black history walk map on a lectern that guides the walk-in Camberwell, South East London, U.K. https://www.instagram.com/tfatunla123
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