A Gift from Kenya Leaves Shark Awards Judges in Tears
Updated: Oct 8
Kinsale, Co. Cork — September 2026
The benchmark for Shark Awards sponsorship has just been set remarkably high, after Kenyan-based Pan-African production and service company Ginger Ink Films Africa surprised this year’s Shark Awards judges with an extraordinarily thoughtful gift at the judges’ welcome dinner at the Blue Haven restaurant in Kinsale.
Ginger Ink Films Africa is a sponsor of this year’s Shark Awards, and it's Founder/Managing Director, Ginger Wilson, carefully curated a gift bag for each judge, filled with personal and beautifully considered gifts from Kenya.
But it was one very special item that stole the show — a portrait of each judge, painted by a child from the Kibera Arts District in Nairobi.
Children aged between six and 13 were each given a photograph of one of the Shark judges and asked to create their own painted portrait. Rather than simply being painted on paper, each portrait was created directly onto the individual judge’s gift bag, making every bag completely unique.
The children were then photographed holding their finished artwork. Two copies of each photograph were included in the corresponding gift bag: one for the judge to keep as a memento, and another to be returned to the young artist. Judges were invited to write a personal note on the back of the photograph, sharing their thoughts on the portrait and, most importantly, words of creative encouragement for the child who painted it.
It was a gesture that resonated deeply with the Shark judges, all of whom have built careers in creative industries themselves.
“The idea of giving a child creative encouragement really struck a chord with us,” said Peter Brady, Sharks Chairperson. “Every one of us knows what it feels like to have someone believe in your creativity and encourage you to keep going. To be able to send that encouragement back to the child who painted our portrait made the gift incredibly special.”
The thoughtful Kenyan-themed bags didn't stop there. They also contained hand-beaded African necklaces, designed to hold the judges’ Ginger Ink Films Africa-branded name badges, Shark postcards, a hand-beaded shark keyring, Kenyan tea, coffee and macadamia nuts, as well as a brightly coloured Kenyan scarf, known as a kikoi.
The result was a gift that went far beyond traditional corporate merchandise — creating a personal connection between the Shark Awards judges in Kinsale and a group of young artists thousands of kilometres away in Nairobi.The Kibera Arts District is a creative community in Nairobi supporting young people through art and creative activity. Needless to say, the judges were blown away by the gesture.
Hannah Lambert (freelance producer & Kinsale judge): "The judges’ gift bags, so thoughtfully put together for the welcome dinner, left us all genuinely speechless. It was such a beautiful idea, brought to life by these incredibly talented young people."
Hannah: "Ginger’s speech about the work they do within local communities, and the opportunity to write a personal thank-you note to each of the artists, was so thoughtful and impactful. It was a truly wonderful dinner, made all the more special and memorable by such a personal and meaningful gesture."
Ginger Wilson: "We wanted to support the Sharks because there’s something very special about an awards festival that remains so personal. It’s a creative community recognising and celebrating each other, peer to peer, and there’s a real sense of collaboration. You actually get to spend time with people — reconnect with old friends and make new ones. For us, it was also a chance to bring a little bit of Africa to Kinsale, and for those young Kenyan artists to know that something they created in Kibera travelled halfway across the world and made such an impact was really rewarding."
And with such an imaginative approach to sponsor engagement, Ginger Ink Films Africa may just have raised the bar for Shark Awards sponsors for years to come.
