Bennardo Santos
Namibia
Creative / Artist
Heritage & Technology
I'm Bennardo Santos, Managing Director of PriDegree Design studio which provides animation, web design, brand identity and illustrations - aka "The Jack of all trades, Master of some". For our Hack Ur Culture project I worked on the character illustrations and logo design of AfriKreatives, and provided creative and time management direction. It was challenging to work remotely with amazing, tech savvy and creative individuals from different African countries. However, we pushed through, proving that we can achieve anything as we are both knowledgeable and resilient. I have a Master's in Graphic Design Communication in which I primarily focused on Afropolitanism, Postcolonialism Digimodernism and Digiafrolism. Digiafrolism is a term, I coined, which refers to the study of the digitisation of African themes, intelligence, cultural heritage and language in the digital space and aims to explores ways in which Africans are reviving and maintaining their African identity, themes, culture and history in the digital space. I was so privileged to have worked on such a project as it indicates that the "Subalterns are Talking" and we are the only ones who can truly tell our stories with accuracy and holistic meaning. I had began as early as 2009 with Omazimo - African Stories, and it is encouraging to see platforms being made available were we can showcase our African heritage. I am hoping to see more of such initiatives in future.