TogoYeye

TogoYeye is a photography led project celebrating Togolese artists and thinkers. The project was found by my Lomé based friend, Malaika Nabillah and myself in 2019. As creative duo we seek to create work that empowers Togo’s youth and speaks to the power of collective imagination as well as the progress that comes with valuing individualism. Malaika and I have come to understand especially fashion as a symbol and vessel of such, which is why we work in close collaboration with young designers and streetwear stylists to create our imagery.

Our main objective is to document and celebrate those who push creative boundaries, and to support young Togolese creatives trough creative productions. We hope to reclaim and challenge historical and contemporary narratives of Togo and it´s diaspora. We believe that through creative collaboration we can strengthen our community and bridge the gap between the Togolese diaspora and people at home. For that reason, our work often addresses the cultural dynamics between the many facets of Togolese identity.

Besides photography, another large component of our work is scouting designers and our conversations with artists about tradition, defining a Togolese modernity and our history. Our work is informed by interviews and conversations with key players in Lomé's Fashion industry, historical archivists, our own historical research, and contemporary environments.

We find that through our different perspectives and upbringings we can learn a lot from each other. We hope that, with funding we will be able to support our collaborators financially to offer sustainable forms of empowerment and continue conversations in the future through creative productions, accessible exhibition spaces and a printed edition of TogoYeye. We hope that the optimism in our images shines a light onto Togo’s underrepresented future generations and the dreams and hopes we hold.