DAZED MEDIA AND CONVERSE ANNOUNCE RECIPIENTS OF THE DAZED 100 IDEAS FUND

The Dazed 100 List has returned for its 6th anniversary this year with another group of aspiring, innovative, and talented creatives in their spotlight. However, they have chosen to take a more rewarding approach to the list this year. Teaming up with Converse, Dazed has provided a £50,000 grant to financially support the visionary work and ideas of a select number of the communities favorite creatives. Dazed and Converse will document their journeys as each of the Dazed 100ers create their projects sharing their respective stories across social media and Dazed online.

The grant will be shared among four Dazed 100ers: photographer DJ and gardener DJ Freedem (27); Alfie White (20); DJ, presenter, and producer Henrie Kwushue (25), and trans model and artist Ella Snyder (21). Alongside supporting creative projects, the grant will be used to finance four digital workshops hosted by Dazed 100 talent: photographer Danika Magdelena (24), model Deba (18) musicians Joy Crookes (21), and Beabadoobee (20). The online summer series of workshops will be dedicated to offering young people mentoring, access, and insight into the creative industries. Meet the four Dazed 100ers awarded the grant.

New York-based plant lover DJ Freedem, AKA the Trap Gardener, recently launched The Underground Plant Trade, a playful representation of reparations that sees white people donate plants to black people as a way of showing solidarity via the mood-boosting potentials of plants. For Freedem, personal and plant care are interconnected: “I want people to also feel the light at the end of the tunnel instead of just seeing it.” DJ Freedem also states “I’ll host plant workshops to spread the knowledge, healing, and transformation that plants can bring to this world.

South London photographer Alfie White will create two documentary projects: a photo essay on the experiences of people affected by the UK Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, and a collaborative document showing the experiences of young people all around the world in the year 2020. For this global survey, Alfie will send disposable cameras to volunteer photographers, creating an international portrait of our time. White explains. “Being not just a witness to these moments, but a participant, too – that was what inspired me to start and is what inspires me to keep going.”

London-based presenter and DJ Henrie Kwushue will create a series of short films under the title Untold Stories, hiring creatives from underprivileged backgrounds to work on the project through her production company HTK Productions. “This is really meaningful to me because I remember how hard it was – working in news, TV, and radio – when I was the only one that believed in me (and) my ideas,” Henrie says, “I don’t want people to feel that way, and if I can create a community of people where their differences unite them, that will just be incredible.

New York-based model, photographer, and YouTuber Ella Snyder will create a photography book focusing on the transgender community and her place within it. “It’s a really big step for me, connecting with my community after having been a ‘stealth’ trans woman for so long. Hiding that part of my identity really created a disconnect,” Ella says. Proceeds from sales of the photobook will be donated to Camp Aranu'tiq, a summer camp for transgender and non-binary young people that Ella attended aged 11. “It was the first space I ever felt free to be myself,” she explains, “I hope that this book can do something similar for everyone included.”

Converse’s connection to creative culture has been seen throughout its history and most recently in London, its commitment to creative progress came to life through the Spark Progress initiative in 2019, which has since enabled more than 50 creative projects in the city with young emerging talent. As 2020 has proved to be a tough year for creatives with its restrictions and quick spread of Covid-19, Converse, and Dazed have presented an outlet to allow creatives ideas and projects to flow and nurture freely, shaping an inspiring community in the arts. Create Tomorrow brings hope and purpose today, and encourages the creative community to imagine our post-pandemic future.

You can take a look at this year's Dazed 100 list to explore the prolific minds and ideas of the creatives selected, as it features some of the best this generation has been given the chance to see.