Fri Forjindam: Curiosity and Creative Courage
Fri Forjindam talks with hosts Doreen Lorenzo and Michael Baker about her journey from Cameroon to becoming a leading voice in experience design and her philosophy that creativity is both a civic responsibility and an economic driver. Her story exemplifies the power of living with curiosity and developing creative courage.
Fri Forjindam is the Chief Development Officer and Executive Creative Director at Mycotoo, an experience design company that transforms spaces into meaningful journeys – including their work on Paisley Park, Prince's legendary compound near Minneapolis.
Born and raised in Cameroon, Fri's creative journey has roots in her entrepreneurial mother's influence, watching her grow a small operation from their guest room into the largest grocery store chain in West Africa during the 1980s. This early exposure to business building and world creation would later influence her unique approach to experience design.
After moving to the United States at age 14, Fri lived with a guardian who headed the recreation department for the city of New Orleans, giving her unprecedented access to major cultural events and entertainment productions. Though initially pursuing pre-med studies to follow the "dutiful immigrant path," her passion for theater eventually won out. This pivotal decision demonstrated the creative confidence that would become her hallmark.
Her journey was made possible by a scholarship to Columbia University that allowed her to fully commit to the arts without the burden of parental expectations. As she notes, parents often try to protect their children from hardships they experienced, but "the life experiences of our parents are not the same as ours and certainly are not the same as our kids."
Over the past 14+ years, Fri has established herself as a visionary in experience design and world-building. Fri passionately advocates for creativity as a civic responsibility and economic driver. She defines creativity as "curiosity" and "the audacity and bravery to ask a question and pursue it from as many angles as possible." For Fri, creativity is about "having faith in something that's not seen" and believing so strongly in it that you're driven to make it happen.
She champions creativity as a means of achieving social cohesion and inspiration, arguing it should extend far beyond traditional artistic fields to infuse everything from urban planning to business leadership. In her view, creativity is not just a "nice to have" but a fundamental human trait essential for the future.
Fri advocates for the improvisational principle of "yes, and" – embracing uncomfortable or challenging ideas and building upon them rather than shutting them down. This philosophy of considering new paths and possibilities is central to her approach to creative leadership and problem-solving.