CONTEXT
I created my platform Create IRL, centred around curating intriguing experiences that reflect and empower black creatives in particular - for dreamers, shapers, makers, and thinkers – to collaborate together and create more in real life. Since 2021 I have launched 5 sold out events, the Black Joy experience, the Black legacy experience (two part series) the Black Diaspora Experience and the Black Gaze Experience. Create IRL experiences are designed to inspire black people to see themselves as creative regardless of their background, to introduce them to new artists and art and to stimulate conversation and connection, and always providing an opportunity to learn something new. I have a proven track record of collaborating with up and coming as well as established black artists such as Cece Phillips, award winning designers such as Butler Archive, playwrights such as Inua Ellams, film directors such as Julian Knxx, and critically acclaimed poets such as Yomi Sode. and many more. The Black Diaspora experience at the National gallery saw 300+ guests gather to discuss the Black Diaspora experience and the creative scene.
My goal is for Create IRL to be the cultural educational centre for all burgeoning creatives across the Arts, - art & design, literature, music, theatre and film. With my background in the Advertising industry, I see the need to nurture black talent within the creative industries not just at a grass root level but also on an institutional level.
An Open Letter
1/6/25
Dear institutions, brands, changemakers, gatekeepers, funders —
We need more than just visibility.
We need infrastructure. Investment. Intention.
The UK Black creative scene has long inspired, uplifted, transformed, and connected.
Our art is the lifeblood we share — but too often, we can’t make livelihoods from it.
Why?
Because we don’t always know the system.
Because the rules were never designed with us in mind.
Because too often, what we’re offered is tokenism, not transformation.
How can we win in a game we were never meant to play?
Until now.
🎉 Introducing Create In Real Life Ltd — a platform that doesn’t just spotlight Black creativity.
It speaks on it, celebrates it, and builds pathways where none existed before.
We’re here to:
✨ Shift mindsets
✨ Raise profiles
✨ Encourage our community to create their dream life —
using the God-given tools they already carry as dreamers, makers, shapers, and thinkers.
The wise say: “Life is just a study of attention.”
And I’ve been studying.
The Lord says: “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
And I’ve been listening.
It’s time to elevate, experiment and execute.
Because creativity isn’t just for the chosen few — it’s for all of us.
So Create IRL will take up the mantle and co-create the world as it should be:
📖 Open source
🌱 Regenerative
🎯 Intentional
We’re generation-minded. Kingdom-minded. People first. Business second.
We’re calling in creatives, strategists, builders, and believers
who are spiritually aligned, culturally rooted, and ready to take this vision 10x.
Because creativity is for everyone — not just the chosen few. I’mma trademark this so dont tryyyyy it.
Thank you for being part of the movement.
Let’s build it together.
With purpose,
Management @Create_IRL*
*With the help of ChatGPT & Holy Spirit because I’m literally just a gworl.
TL:DR - “It’s not artwork if it’s not heart work.”
– Words of wisdom from a visionary and dear friend, Andre Anderson, Freedom and Balance
💚
CREATOR
CREATE IRL is the vision of FRANCES KEHINDE, a Brand Strategy consultant with a passion for people, culture and the arts. Her dream is for CREATE IRL to become a hybrid community for black creatives, who are trying to approach creativity differently and blur the lines of creative disciplines.
Watch my latest interview here: https://www.4talks.co.uk/what-does-black-british-culture-mean-in-2021/
image credit: YANA BINAEV