In this debut episode of NKATA, Emeka Okereke is in conversation with Akinbode Akinbiyi.

Akinbiyi (b.1946) is a Berlin-based Nigerian photographer, writer, curator and educator who has been working in the art world/ creative field for over four decades. This conversation touches on several aspects of his life and practice beginning with moments and events that led to and spurred his vocation as an artist.

Some noteworthy anchors of the conversation include: the photographer as a wanderer; movement: being grounded while moving;  the act of “listening in”; the inner voice/inner eyes; photography and writing; analog photography in relation to digital; photography as a tool for the expansion of perspectives, but also for ordering and othering; the artist as activist; spirituality: beyond the material world; archiving, posterity, legacy; art and photography as life’s journey; “the young shall grow”: the future and the next generation.

This conversation is a canvas upon which various layers of Akinbiyi’s valuable insights, wisdom and sensitivity, accrued over the years, are – true to his nature – unobtrusively stretched out.

Are you curious as to who Akinbode Akinbiyi is? Are you an artist filled with unanswered questions about how to cope or stay true to your creative process? What about those who simply want to get a glimpse of how the artist, through personal experiences, weaves logic together by which he remains ever dedicated to his passion, profession, and vocation?

This episode of NKATA is for you. Enjoy it!