Author: Visionary Artistry Magazine

Olugbenga Agboola: Digital Dash’n through Africa

Olubenga Agboola was a nervous wreck as he left Uber headquarters in San Francisco back in 2016. He spent the next couple of sleepless nights on edge, pacing back and forth as he faced lingering doubts about whether his company Flutterwave would become the next payment processor for Uber in Africa. Not a soul in the room that he pitched this idea to had even heard of Flutterwave. Even though he was unsure if his company had the right capital and skillsets, it didn’t seem to matter. A few days later, Uber signed on and Agboola was left with a heavy sigh of relief. 

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Benny Blanco: Music Industry Mogul

Despite their obvious differences, Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” Maroon 5’s “Payphone,” Britney Spears’s “Circus,” and Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” all have one person in common: Benny Blanco. The Virginia native has created a name for himself within the music industry as a producer and writer. Blanco’s affinity for the music industry began early, with him loving music as a child and wanting to become a rapper. This dream shifted, as Blanco explains in an NPR interview. “I realized no one wanted to hear a chubby Jewish kid rap, so I was like, ‘Oh I guess I’ll make all my own music, and I’ll write songs for other people.” 

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Jon Key: Art that Challenges Space

Art is a valuable tool for self-expression, while also serving as a form of activism. When tragedy strikes, creatives seek an outlet to draw attention to inequalities. Jon Key, an artist known for his dedication to justice, used art to vocalize his thoughts and feelings after the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre. Following the tragedy, Key focused his attention on the safety of queer and trans people of color in public spaces. 

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Chopova Lowena: Making Traditions Trendy

In March of 2019, I was lucky enough to visit the country of Bulgaria. I had in my mind preconceived notions and stereotypes about the country, from every red-scare visual of Eastern Europe to picturing a country full of Viktor Krum's (the Bulgarian Quidditch player from the Harry Potter series). What I didn’t expect was a vibrant and colorful country that while flawed, is still so full of life and beauty throughout. The contradicting existence of modern-day Bulgaria, as a country still coming to terms with the end of state socialism and dealing with the impending globalization that comes from the English-speaking world, a country both urban and rural, a country that often seems like it’s stuck in the middle though. Within this contradictive existence lies a possibility that has just begun to be explored: fashion.

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