chuckwunonso angel dureke lives her life in color. she’s a photographer, and one peek at her vibrant images leaves you feeling seduced — her glow is contagious. even better than the moments she captures are her positive spirit and transparent nature. in only five minutes, she’ll make you feel like you’re best friends.
aside from an undefinable pizazz, her dedication to art and activism are also inspiring. she has a palpable zest for life that will leave you thinking, “am i doing enough?”
here’s what she had to say about her luminous glow:
- #gloupsis comes from the popular phrase “glo up.” what makes you glow?
knowing that i am creating something for “my” people by exposing the nigerian-american narrative and creating a voice for women who may not have the strength or opportunity to speak, makes me feel like i’m glo’ed up.
also, i glow when i create opportunities that allow me access to things that would have been denied to a woman of color such as myself years ago. progress makes me glo.
- you’re an artist whose artwork has been shown in spaces throughout the dmv. tell us about your inspiration and mission as an artist. how would you describe your work?
i am inspired everyday by ordinary people and things; the things we overlook, like light shining into a dark room or sunflowers growing in an impoverished area. just a story or picture of natural hair and the power of seeing a popping afro on a woman with dark skin in a predominantly white space empowers me to continue to empower others through visual storytelling.
i like to find the beauty in visually stimulating things and capture them to tell stories through writing and photography. i see my work as a safe place for people to be seen or heard — a place where, even after i am gone, people can look back and say “i was here and i existed. she helped me leave a legacy.”
i want my work to show that people of color exist way beyond the negative stereotypes that are portrayed in the media.
- do you have a self-care regimen? what are things you do to show yourself some love?
yes, i am obsessed with good skin to the point where my family and i started our very own shea butter line, wetati shea butter. i also love to detox and work out; i love hot yoga, it makes me feel like i am floating in a room that bans insecurities. my consistent regimen is getting my eye brows threaded and natural nails done. when my natural eyebrows and nails are popping i feel like i can take on the world, nkem life style LOL.
4. you and your sister seem really close and are an advertisement for black love! can you tell us about your relationship?
my sister is my soulmate, many people think we are twins when in actuality we are 2 ½ years apart. i am the younger sister and we have a 13 year-old sister who is a mixture of the both of us. my sisters and i are best friends, but chichi and i grew up together and learned to depend on each other. we argue like a married couple, but all in all she is the type of person i would share all of my “firsts,” not my lasts because that’s how much she means to me. she is the water to my fire, the dainty to my big, the qualitative to my quantitative. we keep each other balanced, we are truly “ a single soul dwelling in two bodies.” if you follow our sister-duo blog nkem life, you will instantly see what i mean.
- tell us about your current creative endeavors. what you got cooking?
right now i’m working on a major project called the black code series that i will drop the first week of 2016. nkemlife also has some major projects we have planned for 2016. i just hope God grants me the time to carry out all of my dreams because some days i feel like i’m choking on my own intentions. i pray to be able to live them all out. also, my family’s nonprofit, wetati (women empowered to achieve the impossible) is going to host our big anniversary convention in may 2016. we recently held our first international conference in nigeria at the university of lagos.
6. what are your goals for 2016?
my goal for 2016 will be to have less, gain more and build my relationship with God.
7. anything else you’d like to share about #gloupsis and black women’s well being?
to me a woman who can lift as she carries is a woman of substance. don’t ever forget who you are glowing for.
we love your glow angel and can’t wait for the black code series!