HCAF STARS SERIES, JULY 2025: INTERVIEW — Igbokwe Roseline
QUESTION: The Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation is known for its central role in nurturing creativity in youths across the country. How have being its member contributed to your growth as an artist, and what opportunities or experiences have been most impactful for you?
ANSWER: First, I’d like to give a thumb up to the HCAF. You are doing a great job in enhancing creativity in youths. Getting to know and read the works of most of the amazing creatives in the foundation has challenged me and made me up my game and in the long run, improving in my skills. The various writing contests organized have been most impactful to me.
QUESTION: What themes and experiences push the creativity behind your work, and what part of the creative process poses a challenge to you?
ANSWER: I love to read the works of other writers and to draw ideas from them. Sometimes, I follow the given themes of various submissions. I’d say that finding a suitable muse for a particular theme I want to write on has been kind of a challenge to me.
QUESTION: As a renowned creative, what advice would you give to emerging artists who are looking to balance the pursuit of artistic excellence with the desire for recognition and validation?
ANSWER: I’d advise them to first pursue artistic excellence, the recognition and validation would come naturally on their own.
QUESTION: What purpose fuels your creativity?
ANSWER: I just want to find expressions in words and doing it creatively creates a magical spark in my being.
QUESTION: Fifty years from now, what do you want the literary world to perceive of your art?
ANSWER: I want them to perceive originality, authenticity, healing, truth and strength.
QUESTION: Is representation a priority for you, and do you see a need for your writing to reflect your background or ancestral links?
ANSWER: Yes, representation is a priority for me. Most times, they serve as my muse. I mean, why wouldn’t I want to show the world reflections of my roots and origin?
