Amarachi Nwosu

Amarachi Nwosu (born 29 September 1994) is a Nigerian-American photographer, visual artist, filmmaker, writer and speaker currently based in New York City.[1][2] She is also the founder of Melanin Unscripted,[3] a creative platform and agency aimed to dismantle stereotypes and blur the cultural lines by exposing complex identities and cultures around the world.[4] Her debut documentary "Black in Tokyo[5]" premiered at the International Center of Photography at the ICP Museum, New York City in 2017 and she has also screened the film in Tokyo, Japan at Ultra Super New Gallery in Harajuku.[6][7]

Amarachi Nwosu
Born29 September 1994 (1994-09-29) (age 25)
Washington, D.C., U.S
NationalityNigerian-American
EducationTemple University
OccupationPhotographer, film maker
Works
Black In Tokyo
Websitewww.amarachinwosu.com

Personal life

Born to Nigerian parents of Igbo, Itsekiri and Ghanaian heritage,[8] Amarachi grew up in Washington DC and lived some of her early years in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and New York City.[6]

Nwosu went to school at Temple University in Philadelphia but moved to Tokyo during her junior year after winning six scholarships to be able to study a year abroad as an international student where she pursued a degree in International Communications. She went back to school in the States to finish her degree and returned to Tokyo to learn Japanese and work as a full-time creative where she was part of the launch of Highsnobiety in Japan and with clients like Beats and Sony Music Japan [7]

Career

Nwosu's involvement in culture spans different industries from music, fashion, sports and social impact. Her work focuses on bridging these spaces through visual storytelling and community impact.[9][10]

She shot a fashion story, ‘Sankofa’ at the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana for Vogue.[1] Activist, Malala Yousafzai who is the youngest Nobel laureate winner commissioned her to documented her visit to Tokyo in 2019.[11][12] Other powerful figures she's shadowed and shot include supermodel Naomi Campbell during her trip to Lagos, Nigeria,[13][14] Ebonee Davis [15] and also directed short films on the power of women in sports for companies like Nike in Nigeria.[16]

Nwosu has been heavily involved in pushing the Afrobeats and afrofusion sound globally as a visual artist, music journalist, creative director and brand manager. She has worked with artists like Mr Eazi, Yxng Bane, Nonso Amadi, Odunsi The Engine, Santi, Kwesi Arthur and Tobi Lou.[17][18] She also worked as the tour photographer for Childish Gambino during his 2018 ‘This is America’ tour.[19][20]

In 2018, she creatively directed the launch of Budweiser in Nigeria through their Budx platform[21] by curating the homecoming exhibition for legendary Nigerian-American Hip Hop documentarian Chi Modu within her Melanin Unscripted platform as a way to bridge the golden era of Hip Hop in America and the current space of Hip Hop in Nigeria.[22] The event was a two-day exhibition, workshop, panel, concert and party.[23]

She has also been responsible for bridging music and youth culture in places like Tokyo where she shot the first feature for The Fader highlighting the contemporary music scene in Tokyo, Japan[24] and she shot the first African woman to appear on Adidas Tokyo's Instagram page as a way to highlight diversity in Japan.

Social media and advocacy

Amarachi has used her voice on social media to impact society and inspire young women across the world. In 2017,[25] she was very vocal in calling out the blatant plagiarism and cultural appropriation of African prints[26] by British designer, Stella McCartney during its showcase at Paris Fashion Week on micro-blogging site, Twitter sparking an outrage on the social media platform.[27] OkayAfrica called it "Cultural Colonialism"[28] and in a viral tweet, she bemoaned the use of African designs by the brand "but using only one African model on her runway".[29][29][30][31][32][33]

Despite the huge backlash, McCartney failed to apologize and issued a statement to Fashionista that gave credit to textile brand, Vlisco in the Netherlands rather than indigenous African women.

“The prints were about celebrating a unique textile craftsmanship, its culture and highlighting its heritage. We designed the prints in collaboration with Vlisco in the Netherlands, the company that has been creating unique Real Dutch Wax fabrics in Holland since 1846 and helps maintain its heritage.” it wrote.[9]

When Rihanna announced her luxury fashion line in collaboration with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for 2019, Amarachi Nwosu was one of the key influencers who used their platform to applaud the pop singer. Calling Rihanna an “ABSOLUTE ICON” whose 'energy will be felt for generations to come.'[34]

Notable Mentions
  • She was mentioned by The Fader as part of the coolest people shaping Tokyo's music scene [24]
  • Okay Africa named her in their 2019 100 Women's campaign to celebrate Women's History Month[35]

References
  1. Nast, Condé. "Meet the Nigerian-American Photographer Tackling Fashion's Complicated Relationship With Race". Vogue. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  2. "Amarachi Nwosu". OKAYAFRICA's 100 WOMEN. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  3. "9-to-5: A Jet-Setting Documentarian Shares Her Tokyo Shopping Tips and the Secrets Behind Her Style". Vogue. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  4. Johnmarlon (2018-03-04). "Global Voices - Black In Tokyo: a Documentary About Life in Japan". Global Voices. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  5. "I, Tokyo: Amarachi Nwosu". Time Out Tokyo. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  6. Jamison, Shantell E. (2017-12-08). "Filmmaker Seeks to Use Movies to Impact Cultural Representation". EBONY. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  7. "Filmmaker Amarachi Nwosu explores beauty and being black in Tokyo". Mic. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  8. "'Black in Tokyo' Explores Life as a Black Person Living in Japan". HYPEBAE. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  9. Bauck, Whitney. "Stella McCartney Is Under Fire for Using Ankara Prints". Fashionista. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  10. "raceAhead: New Research From Accenture For A More Equitable Workplace". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  11. Murakami, Sakura (2019-03-23). "At Tokyo summit, Malala Yousafzai urges world leaders to expand educational opportunities for women". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  12. "Pioneering sushi chef Yuki Chizui is cutting away at Japan's patriarchy, one sashimi at a time — Assembly | Malala Fund". Assembly. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  13. "Naomi Campbell and Imaan Hammam Take on Arise Fashion Week in Lagos". Vogue Arabia. 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  14. "Amarachi Nwosu speaks on Nigeria's creative renaissance and using visual storytelling to create diverse narratives". www.pulse.ng. 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  15. "Ebonee Davis on Reclaiming Her African Identity and Seeing Ghana for the First Time". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  16. "This Nike Short Highlights the Power of Women Soccer Players In Nigeria". OkayAfrica. 2019-07-31. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  17. "Kwesi Arthur, Ghana's King of the Youth, Wants to Take African Hip-Hop Global". OkayAfrica. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  18. "Yxng Bane Has No Other Competition But Himself". OkayAfrica. 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  19. "Meet Ibra Ake, the Nigerian-American who produced Childish Gambino's "This is America"". Africans in America. 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  20. "You Heard It Here First: Top 5 Illest Hip-Hop Tours of 2018". BET.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  21. ""Chi Modu: The Eye of the Golden Era" Highlights One of Hip-Hop's Most Iconic Photographers". Okayplayer. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  22. "Budweiser presents 'Uncategorized' with hip hop photographer Chi Modu at BUDX Lagos". www.pulse.ng. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  23. editor (2018-12-07). "Photography, Music, Beer Lovers Revel in Budx's Exhibition, Workshop". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 2019-08-12.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  24. "Watch Black in Tokyo, a short documentary about living in Japan as a black person". The FADER. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  25. sourcestaff (2017-10-05). "Stella McCartney Sparks Outrage With African Inspired Runway Looks". The Source. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  26. Animashaun, Damilola (2017-10-03). "Stella McCartney Has Pissed Africans Off (Again) With Their New Collection". Konbini Nigeria. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  27. "This designer allegedly copied African prints and Black Twitter is furious". Revelist.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  28. "Folks Are Mad At Stella McCartney For Ripping Off Designs That 'African Aunties' Have Been Wearing For Years". OkayAfrica. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  29. "Designer Stella McCartney Is Being Accused Of Cultural Appropriation". Essence. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  30. "People Are NOT Happy With Stella McCartney's Show Of African Prints". HuffPost UK. 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  31. "Stella McCartney stole our look | IOL". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  32. "Stella McCartney accused of "fashion colonialism" after showing African-inspired prints". Topics. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  33. Naidoo, Charmain (2018-11-30). "Africa: Old Traditions, New Labels". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  34. "Social Media Goes Wild Over Rihanna's Confirmed Fashion Label With LVMH". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  35. "OKAYAFRICA - 100 WOMEN". OKAYAFRICA's 100 WOMEN. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
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