Lawrence Agyei

Currently based in Chicago, Lawrence Agyei (b. 1990) is a visual storyteller who draws inspiration from his cross-continental upbringing. His work is influenced by his multifaceted identity as a third culture child, and it touches upon notions of multiculturalism as a way to celebrate the juxtaposition between his Ghanaian heritage, Italian background, and life in the American Midwest. Focusing on enhancing Black culture and the beauty of its people as a whole, he blends the lexicon of documentary photography with portraiture while taking cues from fashion. Through his visual essays, he offers a genuine reading of cultural identity while capturing the beauty of the human spirit. He’s had the pleasure of working with companies and publications, such as Apple,Nordstrom, Teen Vogue, Adobe, Vanity Fair, Studio Magazine, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Google, and many other publications and brands. His work has toured internationally in the exhibition, The New Black Vanguard, curated by Antwaun Sargent. Additional exhibitions include in The Promised Land at the South Side Community Art Center and Creator Labs by Google. Agyei has been featured in i-D, Soho Magazine, among several other media outlets, and he has sat on panels at Apple and the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. In 2020, Agyei was ranked among the “30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch” by i-D, and in 2022 he was awarded the Booooooom Photo Book Award for his photo series DRILL.”