Nicole Crentsil is a Ghanaian-British cultural curator, entrepreneur and investor based in London. Nicole is the CEO of Black Girl Fest – a platform dedicated to Black women, girls and non-binary people. She’s also the founder of BIG SIS, a new network supporting the personal development of creative working women. In 2018, Forbes listed Nicole as one of 100 women to follow on Twitter and LinkedIn.
What does 'Black Girl Fest' do?
Black Girl Fest is a platform dedicated to Black women, girls and non-binary people. Our vision is a world where our community is thriving. We see Black Girl Fest as an ecosystem fuelled by the need to create economic, social and educational empowerment. Our aim is to inspire, empower and equip our community with the tools to flourish and to do that, we're focussed on creating access, learning and development.
How did you come up with the idea?
The festival itself was created out of a desire to see more Black women in arts programming from speaking on panels, leading workshops and promoting our businesses. We created a space for aspiration and inspiration for everyone that attended. Since then, we have taken things a step further by building a platform that is more intentional about our work to ensure we made a bigger impact for our community.
Why are safe spaces so important?
Safe spaces are where we really see Black women thriving and a lot of us are doing what we do because of that first space where we felt like we could be our truest selves, learned to be better and felt empowered to take action.
What does representation mean to you?
When everyone and every voice is already at the table not waiting outside the room but actually invited.
What’s your advice for someone looking for creative freedom to do what they love?
Black women are the ultimate innovators and influencers. Every ounce of our being is creative – realise you are free to create in any medium you chose and it will be great.
What’s your favourite Afrocenchix product?
Currently obsessing with (Soothe) the scalp oil – it's making my lil curls pop.
How can we support your current projects?
Would love any support on socials would also be fab!
About The Women Doing Bits Series: This March, we’ll be talking to impressive women in our community (like Bola Sol, Abadesi Osunsade and Sharmadean Reid) about what they do, how they came up with their big ideas and much more.
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Bola Sol: Women Doing Bits Series
Women Doing Bits: In Conversation with Sharmadean Reid & Rachael Corson