Creatives of September #3

Chidozie Ekwensi

@chidozieekwensi

NAME: Who are you today?

CE: My name is Chidozie Ekwensi and I am just very interested in what the future will look like.

NAME: Can you tell us about a formative experience that influenced your creativity?

CE: I think the experience in life being so different than the folks around me. I am Black. I am Gay. I grew up in a very straight, white place, and just kind of understanding acceptable ways of expressing myself within those contexts. I think that in our development stages you have this desire to fit in, just to be a part of something, to be a part of what you see around you. Growing into understanding - what’s the word for okayness - the “okayness” of being all that you are despite whatever it is that may be surrounding you has been a lifelong journey. And it’s been very exciting to understand the uniquenesses about myself and why they’re important, how they make me special, and how I can reflect them to others who see pieces of themselves within that. 

NAME: What does September mean to you?

I don’t come here as often as I should, probably because I live alone, so I don’t need to get away from my space all the time. That said, it’s definitely been a communal space, a space to gather and share ideas, a space to hang out with friends. It’s a nice piece of the community that we can operate in outside of home and work, even though it may sometimes feel a little bit like home and work.