AUDREY AND HER MULTIVERSE OF CREATIVITY - Audrey Obuobisa-Darko
How I grew up has had an impact on who I’ve become today. Because of the freedom offered to me, I don’t put a lot of limitations on myself and if I grow an interest in something, I pursue it
Publishing two books (The Magic Basket 2012, and Wahala Dey 2014) by the age of 12, going on to have her short story, Araba, make the shortlist for the 2020 K&L Prize for African Literature, on the theme of African futurism, Audrey Obuobisa-Darko has always been creative at heart, in spirit, and truth. Born to a teacher and an engineer, Audrey grew up in an accommodative environment with supportive parents who continuously guided and motivated her to pursue the things that drew her interest. She spoke about how her parents provided an atmosphere that enabled her to develop her personality and sharpen her skills from a young age. She discovered her dreams pretty early and with the backing of her parents she set out to pursue a career in writing and the creative arts. Growing up the way she did, one can only assume that she may have grown up too fast since she was introduced to fame at a very early age. Since her infancy, she was very expressive and always exuded confidence regardless of the environment she found herself in.
My parents urged me to be very outspoken. I was put in a lot of positions that needed me to be outspoken and was given the freedom to pursue my interest like writing. My mum was instrumental in writing and publishing my books. How I grew up has had an impact on who I’ve become today. I started writing very early and I have various publications to my credit because of the freedom offered to me. I don’t set a lot of limitations on myself and if I develop an interest in something, I pursue it. Once I develop an interest no matter the field, I will pursue it so long as it’s very innovative and it brings me a lot of delight and fulfilment
Growing up, I had that said to me a lot. As confident as I was, I found myself in a community that was keen on humbling young outspoken people and it affected me. I had to water down my confidence to make others feel good about themselves. My confidence peaked early and people made me feel I was doing too much when I was just being myself. Watering down ultimately made me feel small within and made me lose a lot of self-confidence at a point time in my life. Being an outspoken young girl, there’ll always be people who will make you feel like you're doing too much whereas it’s just them projecting their insecurities because they probably felt intimated.
Sometimes I feel I grew up too early because when I talk with my mates on some occasions, there’re things I realize I didn’t do as a child because I was writing and doing things that kept me away from such things. I ended up losing a bit of my childhood because it was pretty overwhelming. I don’t regret it but I do feel, I missed a few steps.
As a young adult and pupil at Wesley Girls Senior High School, she developed more interest in the arts when she participated in debates, plays, poetry, and editorial works for the school although she was a science student. By juggling through the various activities, she developed other skills that have gone on her to help handle the pressures that come with adult life and in the art space. She represented the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) on an African Literature project at Österlens Folkhögskola, Sweden. Other writing honours she has received include The Young Icon Award; Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah African Genius Awards (2014), 3rd Prize Young Author Bill Marshall Award (2017), and 2nd Prize 2017 USA Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation (KHREF) Essay Contest. She also won 2nd place in the 2019 and 2020 Shady Grove Literary Flash Fiction Contests
Currently reading Computer Science at Ashesi University, Audrey is building a career in the arts where she hopes to be not only one of the best authors or writers from Ghana but a versatile creative.
She began her youtube journey during the pandemic in 2020 after identifying a gap within the youtube community and sought to fill that gap with content on mental health, financial, and self-help. She also shared her views on the constant concerns raised by viewers on how one-sided YouTubers were with their content. She explained regardless of what one may assume, every YouTuber has an audience that loves any content they put out. Although still young in the game, she was recently named as one of the top YouTubers in the country by one of Ghana's leading online platforms. Even with such a huge co-sign in her bag, Audrey expressed her desire to press on with her content and hopes to become even bigger with her youtube and brand. She also called on more support from individuals and several organizations who could propel the work of content creation.
Youtube began during the pandemic around the summer break at the end of 2020 through to the beginning of 2021. While on break, I watched a lot of videos that talked about self-help and overcoming procrastination among other things and the interest came in. Looking at the space, I felt it would be a positive addition to the existing youtube community. My initial plan was to educate and share knowledge on personal finance and share my experience on how to deal with mental health and self-growth. It also involved writing and telling stories through visual content so I decided to create an account.
People’s comments about YouTubers are very understandable but I think each YouTuber is serving a particular audience regardless of the content they are making. I don’t think the contents are ‘oneway’ but then again it’s not easy creating any type of content so yes I do understand where the comments are coming from but I also feel there are a lot of people doing very creative and innovative videos that are waiting to be watched.
With my youtube and what I do on there, there are times I feel I am sharing too much but not all the time. There’s a lot I still want to talk about or share but looking at the society we’re in, there are things I can’t put out there. Like the vlog about me taking a gap year, it felt like I was sharing a bit too much but it was needed. Because as much as I am making content for people, the videos are also very personal. My videos are me telling my truth, and documenting moments and memories for myself. These videos also share people’s experiences and it helps others deal with things if they are going through the same thing. There are videos I want to make, but you need to read the room and know when and how to put out a particular video
Making videos aren’t easy because I do everything on my own. From shooting with my phone, editing, and all that. There are graphic designs that I do on my own. Song selection for my videos is challenging because I need to get the right song to fit the mood and atmosphere or narrative and then there is the issue of copywriting. Crazy thing is, as much as I plan out how to do a video, it comes out and it's not how you expected it to be. But yeah, the editing is the most interesting bit. Because at that point, I become a viewer and make sure it comes out in the best way possible. I always picture how I want the video to be whenever I am editing and try to meet the image in my head. There are times I do plan and there’re moments where something comes out spontaneously and I have to do an impromptu video.
My growth has been a bit slow but steady. Because before I started I had this whole roadmap and whatnot but life happens and there are moments when I have to go on a long break. I am not a full-time YouTuber so yeah other things also take my time. So when I am away, I am away but when I am back It’s back to back to back. It’s not easy combining everything so I just sort of plan things out and focus on things one at a time. Before anything else, I take care of myself and make sure the person is doing well and in a good state. But I am still figuring things out by being very organized. There’s time for youtube, there’s time for writing and there are days for other things. If I don’t plan things, I become overwhelmed and it won’t be a good balance for me.
We need more support, I am getting support but yes I will appreciate some more because being creative is not easy at all but with more support from individuals and organizations. It’s sometimes not even about money, just getting a share or reccomandation also goes a long way.
Audrey is quickly transitioning into other creative fields like music and videography. When asked about her love for music and her association with musicians, she talked about how she has plans of extending her scope into that space as well. She hinted that she could evolve into a music executive or other offices within the music space. Although she was not specific, her love for music and association with several music acts means that at some point in her career, we are going to see her do something within the music space.
With how marginalized women creatives are in the creative space, Audrey shared her concerns on how the sidelining of women was not a good look for the industry and an impediment to the growth of the space.
I love music and I love the scene as well. I have friends in the space already where I contribute in one way or the other to their crafts and hopefully, I get to do more with time. It could be in any capacity be it a creative director, video director, management, or whatsoever but yes, you’ll be seeing me get involved in the music space one way or the other.
I don’t feel there’s any particular hindrance but yes I admit that women are being sidelined for some preconceived stance which I feel needs to be changed. Women are doing amazing work in the art space and it’s a pity that people want the best out of whatever their doing but would sideline a creative just because they’re a woman and then come back to complain that the space isn’t growing. But yeah women are doing a lot in the space and people should be open to working with us so we can all grow the space properly.
Audrey is one of the most exciting creatives currently on the scene, her works are amazing, captivating, and touch on various issues you do not see a lot of her peers touch on. With an awesome career ahead of her in writing or authorship, youtube content creation, and videography, Audrey has expressed appreciation for the support she continues to receive. She has promised to continue churning out the best of content in whatever field she finds herself in.
I appreciate all the love and support, I am working on a few projects with some coming out as early as July. I still put out publications from time to time so people can check that out. Still working on more content for my youtube by myself and probably others. A lot is coming on all fronts. From my writing, youtube, events, and a host of others so you guys should follow my pages, and when something drops you get to see it. But yeah I appreciate the support I’ve been receiving from everyone and they should watch out for more
You can read some of her works HERE and follow her on her Twitter as displayed below. You should also subscribe to her youtube for great content.