Pro-bono campaign from JOAN creative delivers new branding for the Nia Centre: "Where Art Makes Culture"

Independent creative agency JOAN recently partnered with the Nia Centre, Canada's first professional multidisciplinary Black arts facility and home for Black-Canadian creativity, to promote the center's opening.

The campaign titled "Nia Centre: Where Art Makes Culture" was developed by JOAN Creative and focused on a rebrand that built awareness of the Nia Centre's location and space ahead of its grand opening in the Fall of 2023. The campaign positioned the facility as a beacon for Black artists to cultivate and hone their artistic expression.
The marketing platform strengthened the reach of the launch campaign through film, digital OOH, wild postings, audio, pre-roll, and digital banners. The marketing assets resulted in over 20 million impressions for OOH and an outstanding video completion rate of 60.64% from skippable placements. Spotify and YouTube took the lead with the broadest reach, collectively exceeding 2 million impressions.

The brand platform establishes Nia Centre as a top-tier Canadian art institution through the redesign of key brand visuals such as the logo, static and motion graphics, typography, color palette, interior wayfinding, exterior facade, exhibition design, and merchandise.
The unique graphic element frames stills and motion to celebrate the art and talent as having a place to finally call home, and a tagline that evokes a calling for all artists in the African diaspora.

As part of the campaign, JOAN designed the opening of‘Here to Stay’ alongside TIFF as a co-branded exhibition, presented by Nia Centre for the Arts. Here to Stay is an experiential exploration of the Black spaces that have shaped Toronto culture.

This moment was shared with the greater Toronto community before the Canadian premiere of Ava Duvernay's latest film, Origin, which also launched the Viola Desmond Cinema on Viola Desmond Day. The exhibition ran through 1/7 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

At the center of this branding project is a hero film. This :60 film, with :30 and :15 cutdowns, showcases Nia Centre's premium spaces and Black artists at work.

A woman's voice delivers a powerful poetic manifesto that reminds the audience to think about what it means to "make your place." Throughout the film, various artists create, perform and show their works in the center's multiple spaces, which were designed using materials, color choices, shapes, and structures reminiscent of the African diaspora.

This pro bono campaign combines JOAN's mission to make modern brands legendary with its commitment to giving a voice to underrepresented communities.

Alica Hall, Executive Director of the Nia Centre, said, "JOAN has created a campaign that perfectly captures the inspiration that drives everyone at the Nia Centre. Viewers can feel the excitement and passion we have about being able to nurture the next generation of young Black artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs."

Theo Gibson, Group Creative Director at JOAN, said, "I am honored to have this opportunity at JOAN to lead the campaign and brand platform for the Nia Centre and raise awareness about an institution where Black artists can see themselves reflected, where their stories are validated, and where their existence is celebrated."

TEAM CREDITS

JOAN CREATIVE

Agency: JOAN Creative

CEO: Lisa Clunie

CCO: Jaime Robinson

GCD: Theo Gibson

ACD / Copy: Emily Kaufman

ACD / Art Direction: Jaye Thompson

Copywriter: John Polanco

Art Direction: Amber Jessup

Design Director: Anjela Freyja

Sr. Designers: Peter Dommermuth, Samantha Kim, & Nic Faouen

Head of New Business and Marketing: Chris Turney

Head of Strategy: Kristin Van Note

Communications Strategy Director: Charley Cobbin

Jr Strategist: Jimon Boadi 

Head of Production: Cheri Anderson

Executive Producer: Chris Cort 

Producer:  Kash Blagrove 

Assoc. Producer: Alston Bowman

Project Manager: Grace Gandolfo

Sr. Business Affairs Manager: Kara Driscoll Plock

FILM:

Production Company: Pique 

Director: Seyi Akinlade

Managing Director / Executive Producer: Imad Elsheikh

Creative Manager: Nancy Eld

Line Producer: Meika Wagner

DP: Ali Khurshid 

Production Designer: Christina Kim 

Wardrobe Stylist: Summer Ruddock-Ellis

Post Production: Production Company: Pique 

Managing Director / Executive Producer: Imad Elsheikh

Creative Manager: Nancy Eld

Editor: Shakes Oyinsan

Production Company: JOAN Studios 

Executive Producer: Shami LaCourt 

Editor: Grace Wiehl

Animation:  Marvin Lau 

Music:  Executive Music Producer: Teddy Fantum

Sound: SONIC UNION

Mix: Michael Marinelli

Producer: MK Valentino

Color: Colorist: Clinton Homuth (Artjail)

Script: Sajae Elder