Black History Month alumni spotlight: Meet Ella Okoromadu

As part of our Black History Month celebration, we interviewed UAL alumni and current staff member Ella Okoromadu, who works as a Brand and Creative Services Assistant.

Get to know Ella, find out why acknowledging Black History is important to her and how it has helped shaped her creative practice.

Hi Ella! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

I am a Nigerian woman who was born and raised in and around East London and Essex. I found myself integrating into London more once I attended CSM for my Bachelor's degree in Graphic Communication Design (2019) and my Master's degree in Fashion Communication (2020).

For the past 5 years I have been working within the creative and fashion industries, producing work within the realms of creative direction, graphic design and styling. Whilst studying, I found myself producing projects that involved a large amount of introspection and soul searching as I tried to navigate my cultural and personal values within my short but expansive diasporic experience of life.

How did you get into illustration?

I have always been into drawing. It was my main creative outlet as a child and the one avenue that I had control over no matter the circumstances that I found myself in. As I have gotten older, I have used my illustrations as a way to express how I am feeling when researching or writing. Images speak louder than words.

How was your experience transitioning from a UAL student to a member of staff?

I think I have always thought of my experience as being recent alumni as my superpower because I can empathise with current students and think organically from their point of view when in meetings with colleagues.

I am not one for change, but I am a very adaptable and organised individual.

Being a student at CSM taught me to always be on my toes and to stand by what I produce and that has helped me a lot in my transition to being a staff member.

Why is celebrating Black History Month and Black History in general important to you?

Black history should be celebrated every month of the year. It is important that everyone knows and can reflect on what our ancestors have done for us to be able to live the lives that we live now. Life isn't perfect for Black people right now, but it could've been a lot worse without the sacrifices our elders made for us.

What Black people have inspired you throughout your life? Could you please explain why?

My Mum and my Grandma have been main inspirations in my life. They are both strong, independent, beautiful, and articulate Black women who have shown me how to always be unapologetically myself. They taught me how to be the woman I am today and how to embrace my strengths and weaknesses and use them to my advantage. They are my everything.

How has Black history, culture or your experience as a Black person influenced your work?

Because I was born and raised here and not back home, I have always had a disconnect to Nigeria and my culture. I have used my illustrations and my academic research to find out more about myself, my history and my culture.

My experiences as a Black woman haven't always been great. I have been verbally assaulted, fetishised and ignored because of the colour of my skin and I have used that pain to create and write - my pain is my creativity and vice versa.

This year’s theme is ‘Time for Change: Action Not Words’ - how do you think this could be implemented?

I think it's quite self-explanatory and a great theme because of that. It's very easy to say you are anti-racist and you believe that Black lives matter, but what will you do about it? How will you act upon your words? After the protests, what can you do?

You can educate yourself. You can hear Black voices. You can call out wrong behaviours and words of others. You can take accountability. Taking steps like this will evoke change, simply speaking about it won't do that.

What advice would you give to upcoming Black creatives?

​Be kind to yourself. The creative industries aren't kind to us and the world isn't either, so put yourself and your mental health before anything else!

Why is it important for UAL to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of their Black staff, students and alumni?

It is really important for UAL to celebrate and acknowledge us because it helps boost morale and to also allow us to feel seen.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us?

For the last few years I have delved into research that looked into fashion as an industry that I love and its disturbing treatment and perceptions of Black women from the late 16th century onwards. Through all the books, articles, journals, interviews, I came to the realisation that being a Black woman is not just my external identity, but a blessing.

Find out more about how we're celebrating Black History Month.

Check out some of Ella's amazing work: