chiZoba's photostream

Mix two parts Nigeria, one part reportage with a sprinkle of NYC cool and you get the flyness that is Phillis Kwentoh.

Born in Texas, Phillis moved to Nigeria at age 4 with little knowledge of her native culture. After 1 and ½ years in the Motherland she returned to the States a brand new child. Phillis grew up in Connecticut and graduated from North Haven High School; there she got her first real taste of art photography and fell in love with the darkroom.

In 2004 Phillis enrolled at University of Connecticut as a print journalism major. After realizing that writing was not her passion, Phillis decided it was time to fall deeper in love with photography. So she spent her 2007 summer cataloging Robin Romano’s ‘Stolen Childhoods’ photos for the William Benton Museum of Art. That same summer she revisited Nigeria to embark on her own photo excursion. After capturing her ancestral home’s supreme beauty – and exhibiting her work in Connecticut and New York – Phillis knew without a doubt that photography was her calling.

Fast forward to April 2008. Phillis received the call of her dreams and – in less than a month after graduation – moved to New York City to work for Essence Magazine. Since then Phillis has photographed street fashion for Essence and Parlour Magazine, various artists for Polaris Images, worked as a news and entertainment photo editor and featured her work online for Vogue Italia.

When Phillis is not exhibiting her work around New York City, she devotes time to her new passion – teaching children to create and see the world through a lens. Her work with Harlem Village Academy Leadership drives her to be a better artist everyday and to one day establish photography schools for children who lack a creative voice.