Child-friendly Cultural Heritage through Coloring; Meet the Nigerian Man Behind this move

By Raisa Okwaras

When Uzoma Dunkwu made a post on LinkedIn in December 2020, he had no idea how unique voices are sought after all around the world. Since then, he made it a mission to inspire generations of children of African descent to connect with their heritage and culture through child-friendly art.

“After a LinkedIn post I made went viral in December 2020, I realized that many people from all around the world are seeking unique voices, specifically from underrepresented cultures,” said Uzoma.

It is that realization that challenged him to come up with an authentic and child-friendly way to educate and inspire people using a coloring book centered on African heritage.

“This challenged me to create an authentic, child-friendly book to educate children of the world about Africa in a fun way: The African Attire Colouring Book,” He added.

Launched in February 2022, The African Attire Colouring Book features thirty drawings of African children that are proudly adorned in traditional African attire. These represent fifteen different ethnic communities from different parts of the African continent.

Each illustration contains easy-to-understand and fun descriptions that educate the readers on the people featured. In addition, they also get to understand the significance of their attire. This helps readers not only understand but also appreciate African attire.

According to the Lagos-born Animation Creative Director, Creator, and Writer, art and storytelling come naturally to him. Even though he studied Engineering at university, he always found a way to explore art. He refers to it as his responsibility to God and to his ancestors to showcase African beauty and its cultural diversity to the world.

Uzoma launched a digital art content creation company known as Scroll Entertainment Studio in 2015. They specialize in 2D and 3D illustrations, game art, comics, concept art, film storyboards, and animations.

“I am fascinated by the amount of knowledge about African beliefs, traditions, myths, and history that is not mainstream. It will exceed a lifetime of diligence to make this a reality and I am committed to this,” said Uzoma Dunkwu.

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