Adaeze Okaro

Photography
Abuja, Nigeria

Artist Development Fund recipient, 2021

See more of Adaeze's work on Adobe Stock

Black African woman with cornrows wearing a black turtle neck knitted top. She has a pair of dark blue jeans on. She is holding a canon camera & taking a mirror selfie with her camera. She is also carrying a back tote back on her left arm. Holds her camera that has a white case with her right hand, while her other hand is on her side.

Black African woman with a curly wig on holding a camera, taking a mirror selfie with her canon camera. She is wearing a purple patterned “dashiki” and dark blue pair of jeans. Holds her camera with her right hand, while her other hand is on her side. (A dashiki is a colorful garment worn mostly in West Africa)

“Success for me [means] creating a loving and fun collection of work. Nothing forced or manipulated.”

Meet Adaeze

Born and raised in Enugu state, Nigeria, Obiageli Adaeze Okaro (she/her) is a self-taught photographer. She centers her work around portraiture, fine art, documentary imagery, and fashion photography in the Anambra state of Nigeria, where she lives.

Obiageli’s work features Black women and men in colorful, lucid portraits that are deeply infused with cultural traces of her origins. Inspired by family photo albums and images of her mother, father, and brothers, Obiageli also incorporates aesthetics from Nigeria’s booming movie industry, Nollywood. Her commission for Artist Development Fund will reflect around the Celebration of Self, Joyful Rhythm, and Beliefs & Rituals creative briefs, and feature subjects in their homes or personal spaces in Nigeria to express a sense of belonging.

With her work for companies like Dove, Getty Images, Girlgaze, VSCO, Adobe and more, Obiageli’s work continues to showcase the beauty of Black women while aiming to dismantle barriers and stereotypes surrounding Black women, one photograph at a time.