About

Tumi Adeleye is a first gen Nigerian-American. She was born and raised in an African household in the heart of New York, Brooklyn before moving to the heart of Nigeria, Lagos. The drastic changes in her surroundings triggered a passion for sharing her photography with the world in hopes of connecting and reconnecting with people. Overtime Tumi’s passion for photography developed into visual storytelling, with a desire to share emotions unique to her experience within a world where words may not do her expression justice.

Through photography, Tumi explores the complexities of the cultures she grew up in from the perspective of a black woman living in America and Lagos, Nigeria. Her work highlights the nostalgia of growing up in Brooklyn in the late 1990s and early 2000s and is equally inspired by her transition to Lagos at a young age. Piecing together the puzzle of life, she sheds light on topics such as black beauty, mental health, love, emotions and more. Her goal is to connect people to stories and imagery that are often under-appreciated, unrecognized, and forgotten. Tumi’s style of photography is versatile but will always display themes of softness and love which we’re all deserving of.

RESIDENCIES:

• Getty Images and iStock Creative Accelerator Program (2023)

• Getty Museum x Black Image Center (2023)

• Future Front Texas (2022)

• Soho House x Creative Futures Collective (2022)

Select Exhibitions

• LA: In Dialogue at Band of Vices by Getty Museum ‘23

• Our Truths, Be Told exhibition, curated by Kawai Matthews ‘23

• Future Front Texas x The Line - Emerge Group Show Install ‘23

• The Mall X Future Front Texas ‘22

• ALL KINDS OF BLACK- Black Art WKND ‘22

• Black Art WKND ‘21

Publications include (sites with published work by Tumi Adeleye):
http://voyagehouston.com/interview/meet-tumi-austin/
https://tribeza.com/braided-life-austin-salon/

FOR ALL INQUIRES, EMAIL TUMIEADELEYE@GMAIL.COM