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Adeola Adelakun

Adeola Adelakun is co-founder of Black Creative Trailblazers and a speaker, panellist, moderator whose work sits at the intersection of culture, creativity, community, and entrepreneurship. As the founder of Black Creative Trailblazers, she is passionate about creating opportunities for underrepresented creatives and championing greater diversity, equity, and inclusion across the creative industries.

Known for her engaging, insightful, and thought-provoking approach, Adeola has taken the stage at some of the UK’s most respected cultural, creative, and corporate institutions. She has spoken, moderated discussions, and led panels for organisations including the BRIT Awards, British Library, Manchester Museum, TikTok Creative Academy, Manchester Fashion Institute, the MOBO Awards, and Manchester Art Gallery. Her expertise has also been recognised by leading national and global institutions including the House of Lords, Lloyds Banking Group, and Factory International.

Adeola’s impact and contribution to the creative and cultural sector have also been recognised through multiple award nominations. She has been nominated for the Empowerment Champion Award by Northern Power Women, Young Alum of the Year by the University of Aberdeen, and Creative, Media and Entertainment Industry Excellence by the Africa Business Chamber. These recognitions reflect her growing influence as a leader committed to empowerment, representation, and meaningful industry change.

Adeola delivers inspiring and practical conversations on creative careers, leadership, representation, community building, talent development, social impact, and the future of the creative economy.

Her ability to connect lived experience with industry expertise makes her a compelling voice on the power of creativity to drive change, foster innovation, and build stronger, more inclusive communities and organisations.

Ronke Jane Adelakun

Ronke Jane Adelakun is the Co-founder of Black Creative Trailblazers, the leading community platform for Black creatives in the North of England. Since co-founding BCT with her sister Adeola, Ronke has built a thriving network of over 500 Black creatives, artists, musicians, poets and designers, creating pathways to sustainable creative careers through mentoring, training, industry partnerships and editorial coverage of the creative sector.

Her work is grounded in the conviction that Black creatives shouldn't have to navigate the industries alone, and that sustainable careers require more than opportunity, they require networks, mentorship, platforms and sustained visibility. At BCT, she's built exactly that. With a passion for widening access to the creative industries, Ronke uses her voice and work to advocate for more equitable opportunities, visibility and support for Black artists, makers and cultural leaders. She creates space for emerging and established creatives to connect, grow and showcase their work, while challenging the barriers that often prevent Black talent from thriving.

As a speaker and commentator, Ronke brings thoughtful insight, lived experience and a deep commitment to cultural change. She regularly facilitates conversations at major industry events, including the MOBO Summit, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Manchester Museum, and Manchester Fashion Institute. Her work sits at the intersection of creativity, community and advocacy, with a focus on building pathways that make the creative industries more inclusive, representative and sustainable.

Past Speaking Engagements

Brits Fringe Lab: Creating with Limited resources

Adeola spoke at the BRIT Fringe Lab about creating impactful creative projects on limited budgets. She explored how resource constraints can drive innovation and creativity rather than limit it, drawing on BCT's experience working with emerging artists who produce impactful work even with financial barriers The session offered practical tools for maximising impact with limited resources

MOBO Summit: Community Building

At the MOBO Summit, Ronke Jane spoke about community building and how to leverage existing networks and resources to achieve goals. She shared BCT's approach to creating infrastructure that allows creatives to support each other, access opportunities collectively, and build power through connection rather than competition. The talk centred on practical strategies for moving beyond individual ambition to creating sustainable ecosystems.

TikTok Creative Academy: Breaking In

Ronke Jane and Adeola spoke at the TikTok Creative Academy about how emerging creatives can break into the creative industries. They discussed navigating entry points, building visibility, accessing networks, and finding early opportunities. The session reflected BCT's core mission: providing emerging talent with concrete pathways and mentorship to establish themselves in competitive sectors.

British Library: Female Founders

Adeola spoke at the British Library during National Women Enterprise Week, joining a panel of female founders. The conversation explored the specific challenges and opportunities women face when building creative businesses, from funding gaps to visibility. Adeola brought BCT's perspective on how intersectional support structures, not just individual resilience are essential for sustainable growth.

House of Lords: Business Growth Through Partnership

Ronke Jane and Adeola spoke at the House of Lords about their work with the Business and Intellectual Property Centre and how it's grown BCT's impact. They discussed how institutional partnerships, combined with community-led approaches, create stronger outcomes for creatives. The session demonstrated how policy, infrastructure and grassroots work need to operate together.

Manchester Art Gallery: Representation and Belonging

Adeola spoke at Manchester Art Gallery about a collaborative project examining Sarah Parker Remond's legacy and exploring how cultural spaces can become more welcoming to underrepresented communities. The conversation moved beyond inclusion rhetoric to ask concrete questions about curatorial practice, programming and who institutions actively centre. It reflected BCT's commitment to systemic change, not surface-level diversity.