Mikael Owunna will walk us through his journey as a photographer with a presentation on his latest works named "Reimagining the Black Body", there will be questions and answers afterwards.
From Duke Biomedical Engineering graduate to Fulbright scholar and New York Times published photographer. Mikael Owunna recounts his artistic journey as a queer Nigerian-Swedish immigrant in the United States and how to look into yourself to find your artistic voice and tell crucial stories for your community.
Mikael Chukwuma Owunna (b. 1990) is an award-winning queer Nigerian-Swedish artist and photographer, born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and with degrees in Biomedical Engineering and History (Duke University '12). His work centers around identity while bending the medium with his engineering and multidisciplinary background.
Mikael is the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship (Taiwan - 2012) and his projects: I am Atayal!, Limit(less) and Infinite Essence - have collectively exhibited across Asia, Europe and North America and been featured in media ranging from the New York Times, PBS, NPR, Al-Jazeera Plus, BuzzFeed and Teen Vogue to the official outlet of Taiwan's Ministry of Culture. He was selected for the 2018 New York Times Portfolio Review, Photolucida's Critical Mass Top 200, the Magenta Foundation's Flash Forward Awards and Review Santa Fe for his series Limit(less) and Infinite Essence. He has spoken and lectured about his work widely from Harvard Law School to the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Reims) and Swedish Public Radio. Mikael speaks English (fluent), French (professional working-proficiency) and basic Mandarin Chinese. His work imagines new universes and realities for marginalized communities around the globe.
See for more information and work: https://www.mikaelowunna.com/