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as sites of violence and death. "What is the impact that has when you see somebody who looks like you being killed all of the time?" The project's goal is "to counteract the pain of those photos, to create imagery that show the black body not as a site of death but as a site of magic." In
February
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Of his work, Owunna says: "I am constantly thinking about how I can imagine and reimagine universes where people from marginalized backgrounds—particularly Black and LGBTQ people—can be full and complete individuals."
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described the book as "defiant and arresting, challenging notions of what queer people look like, what
African people look like and the grace that comes from loving oneself."
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In addition to the
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council grant mentioned above, he has also received grants from the Fine Foundation, the Pittsburgh Endowment, and the
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Owunna's work has been exhibited in the United States, Canada, and
Belgium, and has received numerous awards and recommendations including the
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as "the first time I had ever seen an image of another queer
African person," and as part of the impetus for his first project,
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was foreign to our culture. After enduring years of severe alienation from my
Nigerian heritage and a series of
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Educational and
Charitable Trust Fund. In 2018 he was awarded a Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace from
132:. The book took six and a half years to create, during which Owunna traveled to ten countries across
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2019 he received a $ 20,000 grant from the
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council to complete the project.
93:) he discovered photography, which became both a creative outlet and an escape. He has mentioned
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334:"'Un-African'? Photos Challenge Notions Of LGBTQ Identity In The African Diaspora"
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While struggling to come to terms with his sexuality (he identifies as
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422:"Four queer women defying the snow: Mikael Owunna's best photograph"
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346:"Queer continent: Mikael Owunna's Limitless Africans – in pictures"
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371:"Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Announces Lift Grant Awardees"
278:"Mikael Owunna's Photographs Show the Essence of Black Healing"
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as influences on his work. He cites an exhibit of the work of
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to reclaim my
African-ness and queerness on my own terms."
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229:"'Every Black Person Deserves To See Themselves This Way'"
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308:"Pride and Self-Love in the L.G.B.T.Q. African Diaspora"
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Racial
Justice Award for Creativity and Innovation.
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42:Owunna was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of
26:photographer who currently lives and works in
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181:grew out of frustration with the constant
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112:Owunna speaks English, French and
50:heritage. As a youth he attended
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276:Amber Hickey and Anney Traymany,
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128:In 2013 Owunna began work on
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183:media images of Black bodies
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284:September 21, 2020, at the
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70:. In 2009 he received a
62:. In college he studied
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402:"Transcending the Body"
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472:People from Pittsburgh
467:American queer artists
442:Duke University alumni
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164:in Nigeria, I started
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20:Mikael Chukwuma Owunna
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416:Middlebury College
320:The New York Times
254:"Owning His Truth"
207:Middlebury College
171:The New York Times
130:Limitless Africans
107:Limitless Africans
22:(born 1990) is an
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203:A.W. Mellon
64:engineering
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213:References
150:immigrants
60:coming out
28:Pittsburgh
166:Limitless
162:exorcisms
142:Caribbean
406:TED talk
374:Archived
349:Archived
311:Archived
291:Aperture
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233:Archived
154:refugees
148:African
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