Dante Nicholas
PHOTOGRAPHER
“[…]As I grow, my community grows with me and we evolve together.”
What have you been working on? Gas yourself!
For the first time in my career, I'm working on an all-Black team while creating for one of the biggest brands in the world. Early on in my marketing career, I definitely didn't think that would be possible (even though there's no reason why it shouldn't be). But we're here! I'm also currently working through how I can better show up for myself (as a brand, and as a human). I feel like that's something all creatives can relate to, but it's important to focus on yourself just as much as (if not more than) your career goals.
How does culture inform your creative work?
A lot of my work centers Black stories. Black music. Black film. Black people in general. So really, culture is just something that happens. I don't even think about "how do I add in culture" to my work. It just is. I also strive to always make sure I'm uplifting other voices in my work. So as I grow, my community grows with me and we evolve together.
What is your greatest struggle/challenge these days?
My greatest struggle these days is finding the balance of Dante the professional, and Dante the human. I'm a Capricorn and we're always characterized as workaholics. And that might be accurate! But I'm working through creating ways to take more breaks. To be more present. To travel more. To pour into myself the way I pour into others. We gon get there, but it's definitely a process!
What has community meant for you as a creative?
Community is everything as a creative. I'm a firm believer in networking across – shoutout to my fellow Capricorn, Issa Rae! If I'm climbing, I'm helping the homies up the ladder too. If I have an issue, I know my peers are having that same issue. So how can we collectively work to solve those issues, so that people who come after us don't have to even think about them? Those are the types of things I think about when it comes to community influencing my work. We're stronger together than when we treat everything as competition.
What inspires your creative process?
Simply put, people inspire me in my creative process. Whether it be in my photography or my marketing work, telling stories is so important. I'm inspired by my peers on a daily basis. When I see my friends win, I look at that as motivation instead of competition because there's room for all of us to win. I've also learned along the way that it's okay to learn as you go. You're never going to have all of the answers, but if you're constantly working to learn new things and understand new perspectives, the sky's the limit for your creative work.
Is there anything happening in your community that you’d like to shed some light on? Or creative we should keep an eye our for?
I love communities like Diversify Photo and Black Women Photographers – which help to melanate the photography space and provide resources about dope jobs, grants, etc. to its members.
