If your child told you he or she wants to become a photographer in the future, how would you react? At only 12, Ariyike Muyinoluwa Oluwaseun is a household name in Nigeria thanks to photography. She started when she was four years old and says she has now become addicted to it. She met with our teen reporter Angel and spoke about her journey, even to owning a photo company.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello there, I'm Angel Onyechi-Onigwe from Lagos, Nigeria, and today on Girls of Mute,
00:05why not meet Arike Oluwashio Mwiminolua. She is an international award-winning photographer,
00:12and guess what? She became a professional photographer at age four, making her perhaps
00:17the youngest photographer in Africa. She is the CEO of Arike Photography. So come with me,
00:24and let's meet the girl boss and the golden girl of Nigerian photography.
00:30What sparked your interest in photography? For the first time, I went from, like, I
00:41phoned my dad to a job. That day, I, like, I begged my dad to give me a camera to take pictures around
00:47for people, and I had so much fun. People, they congratulated me, and I don't want to, like,
00:56stop enjoying that experience. So, I say, I continue to take pictures of people going to
01:03events and parties like that. Things may not always go as planned. How do you handle criticism
01:09or feedback on your work? I usually ignore them. If it's too, like, hard for me to ignore, I go
01:16meet my dad or my mom. They talk to me, motivate me, and I'll get back to work. Are there any
01:22photographers who have inspired or influenced your work globally or here? I don't really have
01:29a photographer globally that's inspired me, but here in Nigeria, I have my dad. The photographer
01:35is my mentor. He teaches me everything I know. So, tell us about the awards that you have won
01:41so far. I won the Child Global Prodigy Award 2022 in Dubai, and I won Dream Big Outreach Award
01:52here in Lagos, Nigeria. I also won the Kid Entrepreneur Abasedo Award also in Nigeria,
02:00Lagos. So, you're just 13, Ariike. What are your plans for the future in terms of
02:08photography? I want to be able to have my own studio where I will train people and also have
02:14my own training program. Yeah, and a lot more. What advice would you give to girls your age
02:22who also have big dreams? Okay, I'll tell them not to give up. The journey is not easy, so they
02:27should keep fighting. Don't look down on yourself. So, how have you seen your daughter's photography
02:36skill evolve and develop over time? Yeah, her journey in photography has been quite amazing.
02:43Starting from when she was four, now she's 13. For her age, it's quite impressive. As a photographer
02:50how do you strike the balance between offering her support and allowing her the freedom to be
02:56herself? It's not been easy considering my own nature of business as well as a photographer.
03:02It's challenging for me as a brand because sometimes I have to neglect my homework,
03:06follow her to her shoots, you know, take out time out of my own personal schedule to focus on that.
03:12It's not easy really, but it's worth the sacrifice. What advice would you give to other parents whose
03:18kids are also interested in pursuing photography? I would say way beyond photography. I advise
03:26parents to be able to identify the skills their kids possess because everybody is born with
03:31science skills. Be it photography, music, talking just like you or whatever it is. Identify the
03:39skills your kids have in it, then build it for them, support them, guide them and protect them
03:49while they're at it. Of course school is important, education is very key, but above education,
03:54skills is very important. Ariake looks forward to owning one of the best studios in the world.
04:02There, she hopes to impact her knowledgeable skills for free. She also hopes to give out
04:07free cameras to the less privileged, especially children, to prepare them for a sustainable life
04:12ahead. Reporting from Lagos, Nigeria, I am Angel Onyechi Unigwe. See you in the next one. Bye!