“...Art is a part of our being and it should inspire positive values and not just entertain.”
- Sefa Renee Charles-Ayede
Sefa Renee Charles-Ayede is a Nigeria-based creative working across photography, music, and writing. She describes herself as a curious, lighthearted soul that enjoys expressing herself and contributing to spaces that encourage self-expression. “I have always been curious about art and media in its various forms. I grew up around creatives, especially those who made conscious art,” she told Global Citizen. My father was a journalist, and my mother was a stockbroker and a creative as well. They raised me to understand that art is a part of our being and [that] it should inspire positive values and not just entertain.”
Charles-Ayede is also a painter, though that came to her differently. “Painting came along as a hobby at first. I didn't consider it a worthwhile pursuit or career as I did with my photography or writing. It was only after years of painting leisurely, followed by taking lessons and training, that I realized my art was worth developing. Activism flowed unconsciously, and it has always been my response to events happening around me. I love that I can paint my views on matters I am interested in and invite others to share theirs with me.”
Charles-Ayede’s work focuses on faith, the environment, and politics. “Faith She explains that “faith appears in my work as an exploration of my relationship with God, belief, and transformation,” she explains.“Environmental themes emerge from a desire to honour the spaces we inhabit and consider our responsibility towards them. Politics and societal concerns enter the work through reflections on the systems that shape our daily lives and collective futures.”
Civic space in Nigeria is repressed, and Charles-Ayede says it has been that way her whole life.. “I heard stories of people being persecuted or being killed for speaking up against injustice or just sharing the truth about events. From journalists to artists, writers, and people from various walks of life.” Rather than feeling discouraged, she sees responsibility in it. “I feel privileged to be a part of a generation that has access to more information. We are tasked with the responsibility of creating content mindfully. The privilege we enjoy today was paid [for] by the lives of others. We have it better than those who came before us, and we owe it to those present and those coming after us to uphold the truth, no matter what. I feel like I can express myself, and no, I haven't faced any intimidation or violence.”
For the Emerging Creatives Program Charles-Ayede has produced a painting titled Se Za Hana?! (Where Should We Go?). She describes Se Za Hana?! as a visual interrogation of displacement, Indigenous sovereignty, and the erosion of human dignity under the guise of urban development. Rooted in the Tiv language and the contemporary Nigerian landscape, this piece works as both a lamentation and a confrontation.
“At the heart of the composition lies a vibrant, organic core of green, gold, and earthy tones symbolic of ancestral lands, deep-rooted traditions, and the inherent richness of rural communities,” the artist explains. “This sanctuary is violently disrupted by a chaotic, grid-like overlay of stark white textures. Evoking images of construction scaffolding, bureaucratic boundaries, and makeshift shelters built from scraps, these white lines track the aggressive encroachment of luxury real estate and state-sanctioned land grabbing.”
Centered within this structural cage is a gilded, textured emblem marked with horizontal tallies. It stands as a symbol of endurance, a marking of time, and a quiet monument to those pushed to the fringes. Se Za Hana?! strips away the polished vocabulary of modern urbanization to expose a raw, scorching truth: when you strip a people of their shelter, you attempt to erase their identity. “The artwork leaves the viewer with an urgent, unanswered question hanging in the air, Charles-Ayede concludes. When the underserved are pushed to their absolute limit, where are they supposed to go?”
SEFA'S WORK
Global Citizen’s Emerging Creatives Program provides a platform for emerging creatives in the Global South that are highlighting the need for open civic space worldwide. Through their art, they call for change, shine a light on social injustices, and advocate for the advancement of the Global Goals.
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POET
South African-born Simphiwe Molefe, uses his photography to show the impacts of energy issues in the country. His collection of images titled, Impilo Iyaqhubeka, translates to mean “life goes on” in isiZulu and looks at how every day members of his community cope with South Africa’s ongoing power crisis.
In 2023, South Africa’s civic space rating was downgraded from “narrowed,” to “obstructed” — the third worst rating a country can have. That’s why Molefe believes creatives like himself have a role to play in highlighting the effects of the failure of basic services such as the power crisis in South Africa.