Producer and founders of OYA Media Group and OYA Black Arts Coalition (OBAC), Ngardy Conteh George and Alison Duke win the Silver Anthem Award for Black Community Mixtapes at the Anthem Award ceremony on January 30, 2024. The web series, nominated under the Education, Art & Culture – Film, Video, Television or Show category, celebrates Black history in Canada through community archives.

Commemorating purpose and mission-driven work, the Anthem Award is the largest and most comprehensive social impact award, accepting work across five areas of impact work including awareness and media, fundraising, community engagement, product, innovation and service, and team and leadership.

“We couldn’t be happier to be ringing in this year’s Black History Month with such an amazing accomplishment for our team and alumni. With Black artists still having to fight to gain a spot in the film industry, it is great to see work like Black Community Mixtapes getting the recognition it deserves and Black artists thriving in entertainment- our key priority at OBAC.”

Ngardy Conteh George, co-founder of OBAC

Following a young filmmaker and actor as she embarks on a quest to rediscover significant Black social movements in Canada, Black Community Mixtapes breathes new life into the personal archives gathered by individual Canadians and shines a light on life-changing moments that ignited Canadian Black History. 

Produced and directed by Conteh George and Duke, they provided opportunities for a few selected alumni of the OBAC programs to work on the prime-time docu-series, including the host of the show and OYA Emerging Filmmakers program participant, KhaRå Martin. Beginning six years ago with the goal of kickstarting the careers of post-graduates from post-secondary film, television and digital media programs, the Emerging Filmmakers program provided industry training and support for Black youth like Martin. Hosting the show was a career-first for her.

Other programs offered by OBAC include Scale Up Immersive which gives Black-owned media production companies hands-on experience in XR (VR, AR) production, and Career Leap which provides work placements for emerging Black creatives.

You can find all the Anthem Award Winners on the website.