From Nairobi to New York: Young Kenyan finds career path as movies designer

Staicy Wairimu, a film art designer at Serino Coyne in New York.

Photo credit: Pool

When Staicy Wairimu left Kenya for New York, US in 2018, she never knew her dreams would one day align with the lyrics of American rapper Jay-Z’s “since I made it here, I can make it anywhere.”

The 25-year-old had just completed her A-Levels at Brookhouse International School and earned a scholarship to study at the Persons University of Arts and Design as the only African in her faculty and among the few in the university.

“I chose to pursue a degree in Communication Design. This is a broader scope of graphic design, which has different types of art, design, and creative work like website design, book design, and UI design for phones. We also learn other things like sculpting. My favourite subject was called The Absence of Time, where you create projects based on a scope of time and what you thought within that realm,” she says.

As a child, she was heavily invested in the arts.

“I took art classes at school. I like painting and doing sculptures. Growing up, I envisioned myself creating a lot of designs and a lot of book covers. On the side, I loved writing stories. But every time I wrote, I couldn’t wait to finish to create visuals to go with the story. My motivation to write was to create beautiful book covers to go with the stories.”

Job prospects

Her choice of career was unsettling to her parents at first. They worried about her job prospects after completing her education.

“Interestingly, when I did my A-levels, my parents recommended that I do other courses. So, I did history, literature, and psychology. I also did BTEC art, a programme focused on art. We had a long discussion with them, and they advised me to be a bit more expansive to increase my choice of getting a university as well as my job prospects in the future,” she offers.

“I had started building my portfolio and doing everything to prove that I could put in the work.”

While going to New York, she knew she’d be there for the duration of her studies and travel back to Kenya after graduation to figure things out.

“I won’t lie and say I had a plan past graduation. No! I didn't even know where to begin, but I knew studying and having some work experience abroad would earn me an understanding of art as a business. I love Nairobi, and I would like to build my studio here. By first understanding the dynamics of what makes a marketing and design company thrive, I can set up that studio at some point in my life. Therefore, I needed to remain in New York to gain that experience.”

The biggest irony of her journey, perhaps, is that after graduation, she did not feel adequately ready to face New York even though this was something she’d been looking forward to for a long time.

“I felt like I needed to do something more than just completing studies and graduating. At some point, I wanted some more years at Parsons (giggles) because I was not ready to face the inevitable reality that I was now qualified and the world expected me to wear big pants and contribute to the development of my industry. It helped that I had peers with similar doubts and fears, and they motivated me to go all in. We started applying together that summer after graduation. We sent applications every single day. Mid-summer in 2022, I landed the role of an assistant to an artist. We could say that was my first job.”

Building confidence

She built her confidence while working under the artist who would send her to shadow her at events at times.

New York taught her not to settle early enough. She kept applying for other roles since what she had was part-time, and her inherent conviction was that she could be more, do more, and become more.

Staicy Ngongu standing in front of Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York.

Photo credit: Pool

“I landed another part-time role as a freelance website designer for an architecture firm. They wanted someone to help them redesign their whole business website. In retrospect, I think if I had begun with that, I wouldn't have had the confidence, but because I had worked on the first role with a one-on-one mentorship with the artist, I figured I could do it. I helped redesign their website as I worked under the artist. My dream, however, was to work at a big agency. These opportunities were just fillers to my CV which boosted my confidence to keep applying.”

The big transition

It is said that when the student is ready, the master will appear, and when the student is ready, the master will disappear.

Essentially, when one is ready to learn, there will always be a teacher to guide them through, and when they have already learned, their teacher paves the way for them to apply their knowledge in the world.

“Once, I chanced upon this programme called Black Theatre Coalition. It is an organisation that provides opportunities to black people in America who want to enter the theater space. I wasn't sure I’d fit into that because on the surface it appears as something for African Americans. There I was, an African living in America. Would I fit into this programme as well? I gave it a try because they had a marketing and design fellowship opportunity. I didn't hear from them for three months, so I continued working part-time while still applying for other roles,” she says.

Staicy continues, “Eventually, I got the call saying I got the fellowship. It was like a training fellowship for a year at an agency to expose fellows to agency life by working in different departments in an agency. I was around people who were constantly teaching me. After a full year of the fellowship programme, I landed a permanent role at Serino Coyne.”

At Serino Coyne—a leading firm specialising in design and marketing for Broadway plays--Staicy has a full-time designer position.

In her current role, she has been shaping the visual identity of some of Broadway’s most celebrated productions. Her work includes designing graphics for the iconic musical Wicked, the compelling drama The Outsiders, and the highly anticipated Mary Jane, which starred the acclaimed actress Rachel McAdams.

Her portfolio also features The Collaboration, a play starring Marvel actor Paul Bettany and Broadway sensation Jeremy Pope. One particular play, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, allowed Staicy to draw upon her culture and heritage in providing a uniquely African perspective on the design approach for this production.

“Each project allows me to demonstrate my ability to blend artistic vision with insight into the cultural and historical background of each play, helping these shows capture the public’s imagination and drive audience engagement,” she says.

Where does she go from here?

Her current focus is growing her portfolio. She hopes that one day, she will come back home to create opportunities with the skills she will have learned in New York.

As she continues with her career, Staicy’s success on Broadway proves that young Kenyans can aspire to creative and artistic careers anywhere in the world, even in the vibrant world of Broadway plays.

In the words of Jay-Z in Empire State of Mind, New York is a concrete jungle where dreams are made. Staicy is building hers steadfastly.

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