Emerging: Ciara Ingram

Lifestyle
Written By GIFTED Team
Ciara Ingram - The GIFTED Journal

Image: Michael Kirby Smith

Happy Women’s History Month! This month, and every month, we’re celebrating women and change makers who are leading with consciousness, creativity and compassion. As we channel more inspiration this year, we’re highlighting Ciara Ingram, producer, script writer and founder of Emerging - an award-winning web series inspired by the stories of underrepresented artists, creators and innovators from around the world.

Ciara, thanks for slowing down with us. We’d love to hear more about your journey and lead up to establishing the Emerging Series…

Leading up to starting the Emerging web series, I was working at what I would say was my dream job. I was creating video content at SLAM Magazine, primarily for the women’s vertical WSLAM. At that time, I was extremely happy to be able to contribute to the continued growth of an organization that held a warm spot in my childhood. But, I also had a deep desire to contribute something of my own into the void that is the internet – and the world. I wanted to create something that was entertaining, educational, and accessible to everyday people. So, while I was working for SLAM in my spare time, away from work I started to formulate the concept of Emerging - a web series that showcased and shared the creative journeys of budding creatives leaders from underrepresented and underserved communities.

We love your work! What we find particularly interesting is your intersection of sports and creativity: there’s something compelling about competitive sport and the mindset one must have at an elite level. As an athlete, how does your background in sports influence your perspective as a director and producer?

There’s a quote that I really like that goes like this: “In order to be a great artist one must have an athlete's mentality”. Being a former athlete, that quote really sums up my creative mindset. I’m always looking to find ways to be and do a little better than my last project or endeavour. I’m always looking for ways to grow and learn as both a person and a motion picture creator. That was my approach as an athlete as well – that focused growth mindset. As humans, we all experience low and high moments - but what sports did for me was teach me how to move through the tough times, and that’s something that I’ve learnt to apply to my creative process.

There’s a general emphasis on teamwork and collaboration in sport. Has this influenced your storytelling and experience in the creative space?

Yes, definitely. Just like a team - if there are elements at play that hold the team back then the chances of winning are slim to none. The storytelling and creative process are the same way because there are so many different people involved in bringing a story to life visually, so if something’s off with the team, it will most likely not only affect the working environment, but the final product too and vice versa. It’s important that everyone on the team, or that’s a part of the collaboration, knows their role and wants to be a part of the process - or else things will start to fall apart.

There’s a lack of representation of women in sport, women in media, and women in business. Why is it important to you to not only be someone that represents in all three spaces, but someone who also creates a platform for other underrepresented stories to be seen?

I don’t think it’s necessarily important for me specifically to be someone that represents in all three spaces. I simply just followed my heart and I ended up here… But I do think it’s important for a platform to exist that is specifically dedicated to sharing stories of creatives from underrepresented and underserved communities because, historical speaking, some of the most talented creators that have influenced commercial consumption come from these communities, and it’s important that this is mirrored back into the world in a way that is accessible for the next generation of talent springing up from these groups of marginalized people.

Agreed. You’ve worked with influential and iconic stars in sport and entertainment. Who have been some of your favourite people to work with, and why?

The photographer Ravie B was really cool to work with – she has a great personality and studio playlist. Sports and Editorial photographer, Johnnie Izquierdo, is extremely talented and has really great vibes - he makes being on set an enjoyable experience. Candace Parker was memorable because I idolised her growing up; I loved watching her play at Tennessee under Coach Pat Summitt – and to have a moment connecting with her during a cover shoot for SLAM over how much we both love Jay Z’s music was incredible. Camille Buxeda is a talented show runner, producer, and founder of WSLAM. If I could work with anyone on any project - it would be Camille. She’s just an incredible leader and really great at what she does. Christian, Johnny, Eli, Sean, Max and pretty much everyone I worked with at SLAM Magazine... SLAM was like working at a creative playground with very talented and patient people – I learned a lot from working with everyone there.

What’s next for Emerging?

Emerging is gearing up for Season 2. That’s all I can say right now but good things are in store. Stay tuned!

We love to share recommendations... What are you:

Listening to?

Reading?

Watching?

  • Wu Tang: An American Saga

  • Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers

  • Mad Men

  • The Sopranos

  • The Last of US

  • Succession

GIFTED Team

Gifted, by Nature is a Multimedia Production, Entertainment and Communications company, comprising of a Creative Agency and Literary Publisher — rooted in consciousness, creativity and compassion.

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