Celebrating Black Creatives: Nia Imani, Founder of EBAN NOIRE

Note from the CEO, Joshua I. Umahi: Another week in the month of February, another Celebrating Black Creatives feature on The Recess Bell.

As we’ve established, Black History is Black creativity — and today's highlighted creative has a full & clear understanding of that, that's for sure.

We introduce you to Nia Imani (imania._ on IG), who is a business and content strategist extraordinaire. An NYU alum, she channelled her education and her gift for strategy and art into the creation of EBAN NOIRE; self-described as a consulting agency created for the creative.

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nia on TRB's weekly radio show, The Recess Bell: On Air (Wednesdays, 6-8pm, 90.3 WHPC-FM in New York), as she opened up on a range of topics, including her Brooklyn influence, her founding of EBAN NOIRE, and what's next for both her and the very successful agency.

Here, she sat down for a Q&A session with Gina Halstead to expand on her personal and creative journeys as a young Black woman following her dreams and passions. Let's meet Nia!

Gina: How did your journey into content strategy and creative direction begin?

Nia: My journey into content strategy and creative direction began from my interest in marketing. I studied business at NYU, but I was never into the numbers and the analytical side of business. I grew a lot of interest into the visual side of marketing and what different colors symbols and meanings mean to customers.

I came from Benjamin Banneker Academy, where there were a lot of talented artists who started small businesses. I would collaborate with them on their business launches by offering some of my knowledge from what I was studying. At my current job, I have taken on the role of content strategist because of my ability to capture content and viral moments.

Gina: As a Trinidadian & Black woman working across strategy, management, and creative direction, how has your lived experience influenced the way you approach storytelling and brand building?

Nia: This is a great question because my mom used to tell me stories from when she was in Trinidad and I feel like that formed the way I think and approach a lot of my strategy. It’s very story based.  I start from the beginning to paint a picture for the audience.

I grew up in BedStuy, Brooklyn, where there was a lot of culture around me, and I noticed the erasure of community due to gentrification. I immediately turned to my mom and I asked her what can be done to combat gentrification, and she said culture. My background in Trinidadian culture helped me understand the beauty of everything.

With me just being black in America, I’ve experienced both sides of culture. My brand stems from the love, safety and security for black art and culture.

Gina: Eban Noire feels intentional, elevated, and rooted in culture. What’s the core mission behind the agency?

Nia: The core mission behind my agency is to build trust and hope in our communities; that no matter how small our brand or our art may be, it’s still a big deal.

"Eban" is an adinkra symbol of a fence. It stands for love, safety and security.

"Noire" is black in French, but I kept the 'E' at the end to represent femininity and the fact that this is a black-female owned agency. I want my supporters to know that they can trust me with their vision and we can help them embellish their ideas and present to their audience, no matter how big our small the vision may be.

Logo for EBAN NOIRE.

Gina: You manage Isaiah Keaton while also creative directing campaigns and projects — how do you balance honoring an artist’s vision while strategically positioning them for growth?

Nia: Sometimes, it does get hard; pushing someone to ignite their vision when you want them to go a different route than they intended. Luckily, Isaiah has given me the freedom to own all of my suggestions. He lets me take control of his social media rollout, how he communicates with his fans and his audience, so it’s really easy for me to get my point across and show him that he can trust me with his vision.

I am also a project manager for For the Kinfolk. I had a small issue where I was double booked, managing two events between Isaiah and For the Kinfolk. They are on the same day at the same time… but luckily I was able to continue to build my community and take on new members to help me be two places at once.

My community knows me and trusts my mission so I was able to create a graphic that asked for assistance between the two events. Now I am able to build a bigger team with Eban Noire — when I initially saw it as a setback.

Gina: You wear many hats: you’re a strategist, founder, manager, and creative director. How do you stay creative & consistent without burning out?

Nia: Burnout always happens, but I find the most inspiration when I am the most tired. As soon as I start to feel like my back is against the wall, somebody comes up to me with a brand new idea and that’s where I get inspired.

Most of my friends are creative themselves, so as I am talking to them, I am constantly developing new ideas and also pouring into their visions. It’s honestly a never-ending cycle and you start to find the beauty in being busy.

Gina: What’s next for Eban Noire? Any upcoming projects, expansions, or collaborations you’re excited about that we should be on the lookout for? 

Nia: I’m so glad that you guys asked this. I am finally opening up my team. I typically kept my team very small: just between me and my media director Yanni BK (bkshotyou on IG). She’s well known in the creative scene for her visuals, music videos, and photo shoots. We've worked together since 2022 with campaign work and work with my clients who are musicians.

As mentioned, I am managing an artist and a small event company, so recently I have extended the opportunity for people to help join the team on a project basis. I am looking for team members to support.

We have recently launched a PR sector of Eban Noire where I interview businesses and artists who are upcoming and I get to know more about where they’re coming from and the type of projects that we’re dropping. This is basically used as publicity for the artist to promote an event that they have coming up like we're also having a cocktail, making a dish, or just talking to one another. This gave me the chance to get to know some of my clients on a deeper level while also presenting them to both of our audiences.

Gina: What does being Black mean to you?

Nia: Black to me just means comfort. When I think of being black, I think of smiling, being happy, being comfortable, being creative by nature and enjoying my company.

I have a lot of fun around Black people, and I tend to gravitate towards people of color when it comes to creating. So for me? Being Black means comfort.

Thanks for reading! Here are the links to both February 28th events that Nia referenced:

• CLUB KINFOLK: AN ODE TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH | 4-8pm ET

• SLUM CHILDREN • ISAIAH KEATON | THE BLACK CHILDREN POP UP SHOP | 3-7pm ET