Our very own Dayo Ayodele was featured in The Idaho Statesman's ‘The Idahoan Project: Finding Common Ground.’ You can watch the mini-documentary featuring reporters talking to Idahoans who, they hoped, were as diverse as could be — multigeneration Idahoans, the next generation & newcomers here.
Dayo Ayodele was born in Nigeria, came to the United States to go to school in 1981 and moved to Idaho four years ago.
“I’ve adopted Idaho as my state, as my home, and Boise, especially, as my city,” Ayodele said. His daughter is growing up here. “That’s more of me having roots in Idaho.”
Ayodele works in insurance, but music, and his band The Afrosonics, is where his heart and soul is. That’s what brings Idahoans together.
“I believe the music that (the Afrosonics) do is actually Idaho music, really,” he says. “Because it’s all the influences of everybody growing up here and me moving here.” He brings his musical and cultural roots from Nigeria, and it all mixes it with band members’ other influences.
“It’s like a soup of different elements, and most of them are from Idaho,” he said. “It’s not African only. It’s all the culture that kind of sprouts from here.”
February Artist-in-Residence, Stephen Aifegha, in a co-residency with LED and Surel's Place.Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, Stephen Aifegha demonstrated a gift for the arts as a child. He attended art galleries, museums and competitions. He eventually realized that to truly pursue his passion he would have to move far away from home. Mr. Aifegha researched international art programs, eventually landing at Idaho State University.
Read MoreGlobal Lounge is at the forefront of thoughtful cultural preservation, education, integration and the promotion of cultural awareness by harnessing the power and beauty of diversity for individual and community development. ♥
