A couple weeks ago, Chapman students, faculty, staff and communities had the opportunity to hear Hakeem Adewumi, a Texas-based Nigerian artist, photographer and creative director, in conversation with Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Angelica Allen during a lecture for Wilkinson College’s Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on Race series. Several of Adewumi’s striking portraits were acquired by the Escalette Collection this year through a generous donation by the Ellingson Family.

Hakeem Adewumi is a portrait photographer based in Dallas, Texas. He received his degree in African & African Diaspora Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and traveled to South Africa as part of a Fulbright Fellowship. His practice is centered on the formation and expression of identity, specifically the intersection of race and sexuality. Adewumi’s work captures intimate moments of resonance between individual experiences and shared histories as part of his exploration of Blackness in the United States and around the globe.

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