HEADER IMAGE Anita Chhiba by Kiran Gidda for Johnnie Walker
This week, Johnnie Walker has launched it’s partnership with South-Asian art curatorial platform and mentoring network Diet Paratha and Hollywood trailblazer Simone Ashley. Together, the project champions emerging creatives making positive change in their communities through a design opportunity, cash prize and mentorship programme. Cheers to that!
The opportunity features a design brief set by Simone, encouraging artists to get inspired by their own creative expression, and comes with a cash prize from Johnnie Walker alongside mentoring with the brand’s Art Director, Manu Pillai. And to top it all off, the chosen design will be brought to life on the exclusive Johnnie Walker Black Label bottle.
“Johnnie Walker’s Bold Steps pushes beyond just visual representation,” says Diet Paratha founder Anita Chhiba. “Not only was the creative developed by a team of South Asian talent but the project goes on to continue to open doors for the Diet Paratha community by supporting our Family Tree mentoring programme.”
New Zealand-born Londoner Anita launched Diet Paratha in 2017 due to the lack of South Asian representation in British media, both in front of and behind the camera. The platform and its network continues to expand creative representation for South Asian communities, connecting more established creatives with emerging talent.
“It’s so meaningful to have the support of Simone, especially to help advance the creative future of our community. It was inspiring to work alongside someone who is such a key public figure for smashing through cultural barriers that many of us face, who’s gone on to achieve high levels of success.”
Anita Chhiba
Looking ahead, Johnnie Walker will continue to support the Diet Paratha Family Tree Mentoring programme with mentorships for five more individuals throughout 2023. “The living crisis is hitting hard,” Anita explains. “For obvious reasons, creative industries are often the first to fold under economic stress. So, now more than ever it’s really important to be able to offer valuable mentorships and help them with financial support to put towards creative practice.”
Despite being the largest minority group in the UK – accounting for approximately 7% of the country’s population – according to ONS and the Creative Diversity Network, South Asian creatives make up only 4.8% of on-screen actors, presenters and TV stars in Britain, and just 2.6% of working screenwriters, directors and producers.
“It’s so meaningful to have the support of Simone, especially to help advance the creative future of our community,” says Anita. “It was inspiring to work alongside someone who is such a key public figure for smashing through cultural barriers that many of us face, who’s gone on to achieve high levels of success. [She is] truly the best type of role model.”
As part of the campaign, Simone turns her hand to creative direction to create a short film, teaming up with Anita and filmmaker Kajal, set for release next month. “Johnnie Walker, Kalal and I really wanted to honour and celebrate Simone’s truth and story,” Anita recalls on working with Simone. “She really wanted to use this as an opportunity to speak directly to the community so we wanted to create something really powerful. Working closely with Kajal and Simone helped us ideate such a special film. And of course, having people of South Asian heritage lead each department.”
For those thinking of applying to the design opportunity, Anita offers her advice. “Shoot your shot!” she says. “I really wish I had done more stuff like this when I was younger to be more proactive. This isn’t just limited to artists and designers – we’d love to see stylists, MUA’s, set designers or just anyone who is inspired by the project to apply. You never know what could come from just giving it a go. It’s a great brief to make use of, to help shift a creative block and encourage productivity, no matter what the outcome.”
To find out more about the Diet Paratha mentoring programme and the design opportunity, head over to the website.
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