Today we’d like to introduce you to Stella Okech. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Stella has always been a creative person from a young age. She grew up spending most of her time drawing. Her passion for art was founded through drawing portraits of people she admired and writing poetry as a way to express her emotions. Stella was originally born in Uganda; her family resettled as refugees in Idaho in 2005 with the hopes of furthering their education and building a better future. She belongs to a group known as the third culture, a generation of children that are influenced both by their parent’s native culture and the culture in which they are raised. Many of her ideologies have been shaped by being raised in an African household and influenced by Western culture.
After working as a professional model for a few years, she went through the self-realization that being a Black dark skin model does not create representation in the way that people of color need. Instead, it erases the reality that our world is still centered around white supremacy. And participating in this system without questioning the impact of social conditioning and assimilation on people of color is destructive. It further allows space to erase the history, culture, and traditions of people of color. This realization inspired Stella to create Sanaa Collective, a visual storytelling platform that centers on people of the African Diaspora.
The goal of Sanaa Collective is to re-imagine and retell the stories of the African Diaspora and beyond through a decolonized lens. It’s a space to learn about the stories and histories of the African people. While also providing people of the diaspora the imagery to help decolonize their minds and identities from Western beliefs. Through this work, she hopes to help create a future that does not uphold and center white ideological beliefs.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road to getting anywhere to reach your dreams is never easy honestly. I definitely have had my share of obstacles and challenges. Especially working as a professional model and being dark-skinned in a space where it’s predominantly white. I think one of the things that I struggled with along the way and still sometimes struggle with now is the fact that despite the beauty standard being challenged and pushed to change, it still centers on white beauty standards.
I still don’t feel like I am where I want to be in terms of modeling and my creative endeavors. However, I’m still pushing myself to work and learn harder to get to where I want to be. Despite, my modeling challenges, the amazing thing that has come from it is forcing me to start my own creative arts and production agency. Coming from a background of social justice work and being able to combine that with my artistic side has really helped me combine both of my passion into my ideal career.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My artistic focus is on narrative and storytelling centering on people of the African Diaspora. I focus on utilizing a decolonized lens to capture people’s lived experiences, history, and cultures. I prioritized not centering and upholding whiteness in my work because often when we view visual imagery or written stories of people of the African Diaspora in mainstream media, it’s told through a colonized lens of oppression, poverty, and imperialist ideologies.
One of my first narrative works was inspired by the forgotten Black cowgirls of the wild west. Using photography, and writing, I highlighted the influential impact African American Women had on the past and present, founding of the West. These images drew much attention in my community and were picked to be featured in a gallery at the Inn at 500 Hotel. Capturing stories of people of the African Diaspora through photography has been my primary medium; however, I hope to venture into other mediums as well, such as short films, documentaries, and journalism
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I think a big part of my success has been my ability to never let myself get too comfortable, especially in spaces where I don’t feel appreciated. People tell me all the time that I am a woman of many hats. I’m forever shifting and finding something new to explore or learn. One of the things I pride myself on is, to always forage a path for myself so that I can truly live the life that I want. I never want to be someone who follows what is expected of me because it’s the right social thing to do. Because of that, I have been able to follow and make my dreams and passion a reality.
I know that it can be extremely scary to step out of a space of security when you don’t necessarily have the monetary funds to go after your dreams, but I have never let that stop me from going after the things that I want, even if that meant being broke for a season. I like to think faith is my greatest quality. Because of faith, I believe I will have success in whatever path that I take. The success may sometimes not be in the way that I had completely envisioned however it will come in some shape or form.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellaproci/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/sanaacollectivestudio/
