Who We Are – Ethnik Festival of Arts & Culture

Our People

Who we are:

Ethnik Festivals is a community-based organization that strives to create a platform for Afro Canadian/ Caribbean individuals, groups and collective creators to showcase their unique cultural identities to communities throughout all of Canada. We are people of vision, a dynamic organization and curators of the stories and cultural messages of Afro-Canadian traditions. We believe that sharing art can create opportunities to improve the quality of life and wellness of the members of our community.

Our Vision:

To showcase and share the richness of our artistic traditions and empower people to find their own cultural voice.

Our Mission:

Creating dynamic cultural spaces and platforms to celebrate diversity and inclusivity.

EF Team

Olanrewaju Ajayi

Founder/ Artistic & Creative Director

Olufikayo Balogun

Human Resources & Administration

Diella Ocran

Community Engagement & Outreach Lead

EF Board of Directors

Olasunmbo Durosola

Chairman

Adejumoke Olatunde

Director

Oluwadamilola Awoniyi

Director

Alaba Onitiri

Director

Oluwatosin Salako

Director

Dr. Kayode Oloniyo

Director

Olufikayo Balogun

Director

Oladayo Oni

Director

Leah Nicholson

Director

Chinese (Simplified)

Lanre Ajayi

Alberta Government Northern Lights Award - 2020

Mayor’s Art Champions Legacy Award - 2018

Lanre Ajayi is a Professional Artist, Content Creator, and Actor who has received multiple awards and recognitions from Civic and International Organizations. As the Founder /Artistic and Creative director of Ethnik Festivals, the community organization behind Alberta’s premier Black History Month Festival (Ethnik Festival of Arts and Culture), his goal is to curate, perform and promote artistic forms of expression in Calgary and Internationally. Ethnik Festivals provides a platform to showcase and celebrate the vibrant and beautiful cultures of the Afro-Canadian and the Caribbean.

Before becoming a mentor and inspiration to many people around the world, he started out his artistic career as a teenager. After practicing the arts, event promotion, and managing a printing press for over 10 years in Nigeria, he relocated to Canada with his family some years ago.

After relocating to Calgary Canada, he has worked to use his artistic and community-building skills to educate, entertain, and inform the members of his new community. For Lanre, art is more than just “work”. During his time in Canada, he has worked in conjunction with other professionals to use art as a therapeutic intervention, which has included working with traumatized immigrants from war-torn countries and children. As a community builder, he created a not-for-profit Art Collective for artists of color as a platform for expression and belonging. He also uses his artistic and community building skills to provide mentorship, guidance, and assistance to members of this group.

In 2018, he received the Mayor’s Art Champions Award for Newcomers to Canada in recognition of his efforts to create an inclusive and diverse society and promote the talents of others by using his leadership skills and through artistic endeavors.

Furthermore, he is the host and producer of major community outreach events on a variety of different platforms, including, My City Speaks To Me: a storytelling project about people, places, and events. This project was adopted by the City of Calgary through Calgary Arts Development to showcase happenings within the creative worlds of Calgary.

My City Speaks to me is a bi-weekly online show that he started years ago as a passion project to document happenings and events within his community. He has done this in many parts of the world he’s visited and it’s no surprise that he is doing the same thing here in Calgary. This platform has given him the privilege of speaking with different people from around the world to shed light on what makes our communities thrive. Lanre created this storytelling project to showcase communities, promote tourism, and highlight the unique beauty that exists in different places around the world.

His Global Talk-Active Series is an initiative to keep entertaining, educating, and engaging viewers as we all continue to fight the pandemic ravaging our communities, locally and around the world.

Lanre’s passion is making life beautiful for others through organizing charitable efforts and raising awareness to give food and shelter to those in need. His charitable efforts include donating time and resources to Shine FM’s Christmas Miracle event to make food available for those who can’t afford a decent meal, especially during the festive Holiday season. This is one of the reasons why Calgary Food Bank is dear to his heart- if the issues concerning food and poverty are addressed, communities will have an opportunity to do things creatively. In his country of origin, there is a proverb that says: “If a man is hungry, no amount of words or instructions given that will enter him unless food enters first”. One day, he hopes to have a bigger platform to help raise global awareness of these issues and to help provide food for as many people that he has the opportunity to help.

Sunmbo Durosola

BA, MILR, PCC, Certified Executive Coach.

Sunmbo Durosola is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with decades of consulting experience on the inside in the Energy, Retail, and not-for-profit sectors.
His coaching approach helps leaders refine and build a strong executive persona, set clear organizational direction, gain commitment for performance, and foster alignment across the organization.
In 2016, Sunmbo started his independent practice and continues to work with clients on three continents (remotely and face to face) to help leaders increase their influence and credibility, lead with purpose and accelerate organizational commitment, alignment, and results. Much of his work in the last three years involves coming alongside Executives in a Canadian non for
profit with entities on six continents, as they navigate cultures and boundaries to build strategic alliances for mutual benefits.
Designations.
  Certified Executive Coach, (Royal Roads University, Victoria BC.)
  Professional Certified Coach (International Coach Federation)
  SHRM-SCP (Society of Human Resource Management)
  CPHR (Chartered Professional in Human Resources)
  PROSCI Method of Change Management
Education.
Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching, Royal Roads University, British Columbia
Masters in Industrial and Labor Relations, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Bachelor of Arts, Comparative Religion, University of Ibadan Nigeria.

Sunmbo is volunteers with charity organizations that provide opportunities to learners with multiple barriers and help individuals build new skills, increase confidence, and continue a path of lifelong learning. Sunmbo’s approach to coaching.
With a bachelors in Comparative Religion (beliefs and philosophies across cultures) he is trained to switch off his own inner voice of judgment and with an open heart, connect with others. A Knowledge Management and Leadership Development expert, Sunmbo is passionate about helping clients discern their own knowledge, values, and inspirations in building consciousness for action and moving in direction of their choice. As a strategic confidant, he creates a safe and supportive environment where leaders candidly discuss and explore challenges, develop a consciousness for creating a path for greater leadership success.
This is done through a framework of inquiry that helps people find their own answers, redefine, and generate new direction and purpose.