Come December 14, all roads will lead to Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos as an annual Fashion and Music Entertainment, FAME, talent exhibition, comes to town. Winners of the talent-hunt show designed for 16 to 25 years old fashion designers and musicians will be smiling home with N1m and other freebies that include recording and others.
That much was revealed by the founder and CEO, FAME Production, Bukkiie Smart, she spoke with journalists at a media briefing through Skype, said originality and quality of fabrics used are some of the criteria that the undisclosed judges will look at to arrive at winners who will be monitored as an Ambassador of the show.
According to Miss Smart who spoke from her London base, “Upcoming designers and artistes to be are expected to upload and get people to like their posts on social media through their website www.famenigeriacom to be eligible. Entries start this month and end in December, while audition commences in August. Artistes are not limited to any genre and our unique selling point is getting young people from 16 to 25 years old. This is targeted at those in JSS 2 to fresh university graduates.”
The young lady who is also into charity in the United Kingdom said she was inspired by her experience at some of the talent hunts she had attended while in Nigeria. She also spoke on her chances in the face of stiff competition as there are a plethora of such talent hunts.
Her words: “I have been to a few of the concerts over the years in Nigeria. While most of them were boring, some are entertaining. While very few of them still exist, many others have gone underground. But we are here to stay as it is going to remain an annual affair.”
She poured encomium on her immediate family for solid support as she singled out her mother, Dr. Mrs. Tonia Smart, for praise. “She is my main pal, my manager and my number one fan. My main strength is that my family and the quality of consultants I have will make a huge difference,” Miss Smart enthused.
Interestingly, a major insurance firm, Standard Trust Insurance Plc has thrown their financial muscle behind FAME 2014.
In his reaction, Mr. Segun Bankole, AGM Corporate Affairs, said the firm was collaborating with FAME because of their belief in the project. Mr. Bankole who has a well-known pedigree in the entertainment industry, said: “We at Standard Trust Insurance PLC like to tread where others fail to walk. We believe in the project, and our presence here is to change the mindset of people about insurance. We have done it before and we are here to do it again.
Before now, our areas of strength has been on health, sports and environment, because we believe that corporate social responsibility must be frequently given a health check for a better society.”
Earlier in her welcome address, FAME 20014 Project Director, Dr. Smart said: “The project is a creative initiative aimed at engendering continuous growth and development in the flourishing Nigerian entertainment industry. It is also expected to have an artistic blend of Fashion and music showcase. The crux of the project is discovering, nurturing and harnessing new talents in these two spheres of entertainment, thereby showcasing the abundant talents and human resources in the country. And more importantly to keep the industry growing…”