Derrick Ofosu Boateng
location: Accra, GhanaDerrick Ofosu Boateng (Accra, 1998) is an award winning fine art photographer and founder of the African Art movement ‘Hueism’. Inspired by the wisdom of African proverbs and the richness of the continent, he creates vibrant images that veer between visual poetry and color therapy.
Boateng employs his unique chromatic language, stark silhouettes, which translate as lessons learned from proverbial storytelling to challenge negative and limited perceptions of African culture. Since the beginning of Derrick’s artistic journey, his photography and post-production have been entirely iPhone-based. Boateng’s work brims with energy, color and meaning, which are also the leading principles of Hueism.
As a teenager, Derrick Ofosu Boateng started taking pictures with his father’s phone. This is how he developed his taste of image-making and how he taught himself about digital photography and its possibilities.
In 2017, he started sharing his work on social media, which enabled him to build a platform to share his vision of Ghanaian life and represent daily experiences & lessons. Boateng’s work proposes a kaleidoscopic and colorful portrait of his country from within.
More recently his work was featured in magazines (Vogue, Bazzar, The Guardian), album covers (A beautiful revolution part 1 & 2 for Common), and even a symbol of struggle and empowerment during the war in Sudan with one of his self-portraits. If Boateng’s life could be recounted as a success story, it is first and foremost about the humility of making, the joy of sharing and positive documentation of life on the African continent.
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Lauren Greenfield
location: Los Angeles, USGreenfield is an American artist, documentary photographer, and documentary filmmaker. She has published three photographic monographs, directed four documentary films, exhibited in museums, and published in magazines and other publications.
In January 2016, Greenfield was honored by the International Center for Photography with the "2016 Spotlights Awards" (annual award honoring female artist in visual arts using photography or film). In December 2015, Greenfield was named the "Most Awarded Director in 2015" by AdAge for her work on #likeagirl. In July 2015, Greenfield was named one of the top 10 directors in Adweek’s Most Creative 100 People of 2015. In September 2015, she won the Emmy Award Best TV Commercial for #likeagirl. In January 2012, Greenfield was awarded the Sundance Film Festival Directing Award, US Documentary 2012 for her feature documentary film, The Queen of Versailles. She has been honored three times by American PHOTO magazine, starting with being named one of five "Breakthrough Artists" in the July/August 1995 issue. In 2003, American PHOTO magazine named her one of the "The 25 Most Important Photographers Now". In April 2005, she shared the third spot of the "100 Most Important People in Photography", again in American Photo magazine. She has been twice nominated for the Best Director Award by the DGA (Directors Guild of America) for Documentaries in 2012 and for commercials in 2015. She has received many photography awards and grants, including the Art Directors Club Gold Cube for Photography, National Geographic Grant, the ICP Infinity Award for Young Photographer (1996), a Hasselblad Foundation Grant, the NPPA Community Awareness Award, and the People's Choice Award at the Moscow Biennial.
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Thandiwe Muriu
location: Nairobi, KenyaThandiwe Muriu's work takes you on a colourful, reflective journey through her world as a woman living in modern Kenya, as she reinterprets contemporary African portraiture, and presents a bold new vision of a woman and her autonomy. Creating surreal illusions that are not digital manipulations but rather pure photography, she confronts issues surrounding identity and self-perception while seeking to redefine female empowerment through the application of her choice of materials, such as fabric and common household items. Her work is marked by precision and intentionality from the conception of a piece through to its final printed form.
Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Thandiwe discovered photography at age 14, experimenting with her fathers old Nikon camera. Self-taught, she immersed herself in books and video tutorials, learning from every resource she could find, as Kenya did not have any formal photography schools. By age 17, she was working professionally, and by 23 had shot her first solo advertising campaign. By 2019, she was photographing campaigns for some of the largest companies in East Africa.
As the sole woman operating in the male-dominated advertising photography industry in Kenya, Thandiwe repeatedly confronted questions around the role of women in society, the place of tradition, and her own self-perception. These experiences inspired her first work, the Camo series, a project of cultural reflection. Camo was the catalyst for her to push new boundaries in her photography, leading her into a deeply personal artistic journey.
Since the start of her artistic career in 2020, Thandiwe’s works have been acquired by numerous public and private collections. She has been commissioned to create works for Apple, Dior, the United Nations, Lavazza and Swiss Red Cross among others. Thandiwe opened her first solo-show in Paris in October 2023. This year, she launched her book, Camo, and presented at the collateral event of the Venice Biennale, Passengers In Transit, presented by the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos (CCA Lagos).
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Norbert Von Aachen
location: London/Vienna/Dubai/Los AngelesMerging technical expertise with an artist’s eye, Norbert Von Aachen has captured award-winning imagery in advertising, fashion and beauty.
From the beginning, Von Aachen understood the importance of mastering the processes of executing a photographic shoot. His passion for excellence is evident in every step, from pre-production through to post-production. Norbert Von Aachen has developed his reputation for delivering the highest quality imagery through his ability to showcase a brand’s aesthetic with his meticulous lighting, location, set design and casting.
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Ray Neutron
location: Atlanta, Georgia, USRay “Neutron” Spears is an image-maker based in Atlanta who is devoted to showing stories rather than telling them. Through motion and still imagery he captures authentic and ephemeral scenes, oft-described as “cinematic documentary”. Past clients include Apple, Jack White, Pepsi, ESPN, BBCICECREAM, Under Armour and more.
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