By Afraa Kori
Sydney-based visual artist and photographer, Hameed Akinwande has captivated Melbourne with his first solo exhibition and book launch titled ‘Let the Boys Play’ (LTBP).
On April 20, his artwork was exhibited at Bittersweet podcast studio in West Footscray.
“Let the Boys Play, is a visual journey that seeks to encapsulate the spirit, essence, and unabashed freedom of childhood – a journey filled with boundless imagination, unfiltered joy, and the undying spirit of adventure. This project is inspired by my childhood moments growing up in Nigeria and aims to highlight the importance of creating a safe space where men of all ages can freely be themselves,” Akinwande said.
“I believed everyone that attended had fun and were able to relate to LTBP. A lot of people told me some of their favourite images were some of the ones shot in Nigeria. Someone came up to me and told me I inspire them to go after their dreams and that really made me happy.”
Through his self-published photo book, people can understand the importance of connecting and nurturing their inner child.
“At its core, Let the Boys Play is not just for the ‘boys’ it’s for everyone; I understand the confusion as to the reason why people think it’s only for the boys.
“My target audience is everyone from the age of adolescence; as we grow older, we tend to be occupied with a lot of responsibilities and we lose the part of us that we were once children and all that mattered to us was our happiness, our laughs were genuine, and our dreams were unending. It’s something I realised about myself, and I know everyone can relate to it.
“I want to inspire readers to be free and relive their inner child. Additionally, I hope to raise awareness about men’s mental health; it’s okay to take a break and just have fun. I love the fact that a lot of people were able to relate to the message behind LTBP and it inspired them to play and set themselves free.”
Melbourne’s actor and model Blessing Nyemah said LTBP was a life changing event and book.
“Apart from the delicious food, it was a calling to help reconnect people to a part of themselves that they may have lost.
“It’s timeless time capsule showcasing the never changing nature of play even when our environment and circumstances do. A reminder to appreciate the moments that make me happy and to cherish those moments. And I hope for others it was a permission slip for them to reconnect with those childish and freeing aspects of themselves that may have taken a backseat because of life’s pressures.
“It was definitely worth attending and having the opportunity to congregate with likeminded people. The community showed out and showed love and that was my favorite part about the exhibition.”
Mr Akinwande’s collaboration with creatives across Melbourne and Sydney, made his exhibition unique.
“There is a sense of community here and everyone seems to be collaborating. I love it. I had DJs to keep the vibes lively, food, drinks, artwork on the wall, balloons to symbolise freedom and joy, LTBP books to sell, free LTBP stickers and postcards for memories.
”My LTBP exhibition served Jollof rice and Suya (Nigerian chicken and beef skewers). I have never been to an exhibition where they served jollof rice, so I thought it would be cool to serve some food from my culture, it’s also a way for me to connect people to my childhood. Nigerian Jollof rice is one of my favorite foods. The set up for the Melbourne exhibition was a little different from my previous one, I had balloons hanging around the ceiling of the space. Balloons are often seen as a symbol of freedom and are synonymous to joy and cheering. I wanted to create an atmosphere where people feel free and connect to their inner child again.
“I would love to give a special shout out to the DJs Skylar, Davies, Chesson and SavageThegIrl. My friend Olies that made the amazing food, Bittersweet Podcast, and the OUTWST family for welcoming me and supporting me in Melbourne.”
He described Melbournians as “very welcoming and supportive” which contributed to the success of LTBP and a possibility for future projects.
“After I had my exhibition in Sydney, I received a lot of feedback from my social media and a lot of people were asking me if I was going to host another in Melbourne. I’ve been in Melbourne a few times for work and the city has always shown me love. I haven’t seen a lot of photographers host solo exhibitions in different cities across Australia and I wanted to do it, so doing the next city in Melbourne felt like the right thing to do.
“Hosting my first solo Melbourne exhibition, I was a little nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. However, the support from the day I announced the exhibition was amazing. I feel like I had the opportunity to connect with the local community in Melbourne during my exhibition and I hope to do more events here in the near future.
”This is just the beginning, I love Melbourne and a lot of my friends are trying to convince me to move there, but I love Sydney more. I look forward to doing more events and collaborating with Melbourne creatives. At the moment the vision for LTBP keeps getting bigger but I do hope to spread the message via my art and fashion; I am exploring the possibility of LTBP becoming a brand. I want to host LTBP exhibitions in other cities in Australia and internationally.”
Details: www.hameedakinwande.com/shop
