The Vogue Challenge has gone viral over the last week, with many African creatives actively participating, including our own (Uganda) Cate Ayellah, Lucy Smize, Emolsa Hasaacha, Mushema Housen among others. Itwas started by creatives who wanted to visualise their work on the cover of Vogue for once as well as raise awareness of black talent or creatives.
Some of these creatives realised that their energies were going in the wrong direction. While Vogue may be a prestigious fashion magazine, Essence is a fully black owned publication celebrating its 50th anniversary. The #EssenceChallenge was born. These black creatives were more comfortable putting a black owned magazine on the same kind of pedestal that Vogue was put on. Black people from all over the world joined in, including some of our own, like Fatumah Asha and Natasha Sinayobye.
We may as well conclude that the world has seen the two challenges bring new wave or flame of creativity and appreciation for the contributions of black creatives. However, The Essence Challenge has us on our toes as we expect more to come, as it picks up and more people get into it.
Check out some of our favorite covers from #Essencechallenge
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