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THURSDAY, June 24, 2021 • 19 BUSINESS FEATURE

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When thinking of a tech and digital art hot spot, you may think of major cities such as Vancouver and Toronto. Amrit Ahuja, however, is a locally based artist using just those means to make a name for himself.

Born and raised in Merritt, Ahuja has been pursuing a career in the arts field as a CGI Artist and Creative director for the past nine years, although that wasn’t what he pictured himself doing originally.

“It was a difficult decision to make, but I dropped out of university to initially pursue dance, as I was an avid self-taught dancer throughout high school,” said Ahuja, who attended university for just one year before taking the leap out of conventional education and into the arts.

“I felt that my purpose in life was to be in a creative field. I landed my first gig at Bass Coast, their first year in Merritt, and this led to me dancing at many other festivals over the span of two to three years.”

It was while he was following the festival circuit that he began to develop a new interest.

“Being active in these festivals sparked a curiosity in music performance, leading me onto my next art venture: Music Production and Audio Engineering,” said Ahuja.

“I pursued this for several years, being a resident DJ in Kelowna nightclubs, festivals etc. and I still utilise these skills in my visuals by providing my own music and sound effects. I began working locally at Merritt’s Open Mic’s as a sound tech every Friday night, while making my own music on the side.”

While active in this part of his career, Ahuja discovered that he also enjoyed directing his fellow musicians with their visuals, often providing artists with advice on album art, fashion, and photography or video direction.

“Eventually, I began teaching myself the skills necessary to provide these services to help accompany my direction for other artists,” said Ahuja, who began posting his visual work to the popular social media app, Instagram, in 2019.

It was on Instagram that he saw some early success, with a lyric video being reposted by a major UK artist.

“I began to gain momentum, and gained the attention of other major artists such as Kane Brown, Skepta, and even having major rapper Travis Scott’s team reach out,” said Ahuja.

“I found that I was building a career solely through the power of social media, being completely remote from any of the clients I was working with. 100% of my clients have been through Instagram.”

This exposure has led to an increase in Ahuja’s popularity and reputation, gaining him the attention of some of the industry’s heavy hitters, who soon reached out with a once in a lifetime opportunity for an artist still relatively new to the scene.

“With the traction I’ve gained on Instagram by posting my 3D visuals, I discovered that I was in the eyes of a few management teams and visual producers, including Skepta’s management and a producer for Nike,” explained Ahuja.

“Skepta, one of the UK’s most prominent rappers, was working on a new collaboration with Nike, and I was reached out to by his team and Nike to be a part of the campaign. They expressed their love for my work, and felt that I would be a great fit for creating the title and logo animation for the main advertisement.”

Ahuja threw himself into the project, which took place over the span of two to three weeks.

“It was an experience I’ll never forget,” said Ahuja.

“The work had to remain confidential until release, so I had to contain my excitement over the time we were working. After several iterations, we concluded on a final, and the final campaign was rolled out shortly after.”

Once released, Ahuja discovered that his design, featuring Nike’s shoes and Skepta, had been put on display at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s screen in North London, a major accomplishment for Merritt’s hometown artist.

“I’ve had several opportunities present themselves since,” said Ahuja.

“It’s been amazing to think that I was working on this with a team halfway across the world, and I’m excited to continue working with such teams.”

Ahuja has also branched into NFTs (Non-fungible tokens), a trend taking the art world by storm.

“I’ve also recently sold my art digitally through a new movement called NFTs, where digital art is sold to collectors in exchange for crypto currency, an immensely unique experience and opportunity for artists to build careers through the internet,” explained Ahuja, who operates this portion of

his business solely through Twitter. To follow Amrit’s work and keep up with his latest projects, you can find him on Instagram at @amritahujaa or on Twitter at the same tag. CONTAIN-IT STORAGE

■ Approved mini-storage ■ On-site rentals ■ Secured ■ Sale of New & Used storage containers 1750 Hill Street ■ Phone: 250-315-3000 THE CHURCHES OF MERRITT WELCOME YOU

Crossroads Community Church

2990 Voght St. • 250-378-2911• Service Time: Sundays 10:00 a.m. Merritt Baptist Church

Sunday service (indoors), 10 am. Phone (250)378-2464 for more info and for prayer support. Merritt Lutheran Fellowship

in St. Michael's Anglican Hall • 250-378-9899 Service Time: 3rd Sunday each month 1:00 p.m. Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Corner of Jackson & Blair • 250-378-2919 Mass Time: Sundays 9:00 a.m. St. Michael’s Anglican Church

1990 Chapman St. • 250-378-3772 Service Times: 2nd and 4th Sundays only - 10:00 a.m. Trinity United Church

Corner of Quilchena & Chapman • 250-378-5735 Service Time 2nd & 4th Sundays/ Sunday School (K-Gr. 4) - 10 am Somang Mission Community Church (SMC)

1755 Coldwater Ave. (The Cadet Hall) Sunday Service Time: 4:00 pm • 250-280-1268 Nicola Valley Evangelical Free Church

1950 Maxwell St. • 250-378-9502 Service Time: Sundays 9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

7 Day Weather Forecast for Merritt, BC - Thursday, June 24 - Wednesday, June 30, 2021

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