Upgrade Yourself: Inspiration | Championing Community & Creative Talent with Amzy OBR

In this Upgrade Yourself session, we were delighted to be joined by all-round creative Amzy OBR, who has established herself within many creative roles to date, as photographer, content image-maker, public speaker, and creative director. Amzy also who uses her talent and platforms to raise profiles of peers and fellow creatives, supporting their creativity, opportunities and building networks through Future Culture X. 

Amzy spoke openly with Somerset House Future Producer Jahnavi Inniss, discussing some of her motivations and approaches to working as a multi-disciplinarian. Having initially started out studying Radiography, Amzy quickly focused her lens (quite literally) by picking up a camera to see the world from this new perspective. Through various collaborations and projects, Amzy shares how she ended up working work with the likes of Cardi B, and huge brands such as Beats by Dre, Sony Music, Spotify, Apple, and Nike.

Alongside her creative journey, Amzy also shares how she established her passion project, Future Culture X in 2018, a diverse platform championing, connecting, and showcasing emerging talents through networking across multiple industries, with both online and in person events, having partnered already with Arts Council, Red Bull Studios and Small Green Shoots. The ambition of Future Culture X is to be home to a collective of brilliant minds. 

In 2021, Amzy became 1 of only 14 Adobe New Ambassadors for the UK, in which she speaks out in Black History Month inspiring young and emerging talent saying; ‘If I can do it, you can too!’. We hope you enjoy this inspiring talk.

About Amzy OBR

A shining and all too rare example of modern diversity, 24-year-old Amzy is one of just a handful of young females and BAME creatives in the UK. Amran Abdi known in the industry as Amzy Obr, is a creative who is driven by her talent to capture moments and make history. Amzy is a proud Muslim woman, wearing her hijab to solidify her faith in God and her heritage as a 1st generation British Somali girl living in North West London. Her talents surpass the lens, Amzy embarked on a radiography degree in her early years, allowing her to not play small and take the risk of embarking on a career more suited to her creative soul.

Acknowledged by Google for "capturing one of the most important moments of 2020". The iconic image of Pop Smoke was featured on XXL magazine adding a career defining credit to her portfolio. Amzy represents the epitome of the new generation of talented photographers who seek to vocalise the deep layers of culture, history and social impact within youth and popular culture. Recently featured on the front cover of GUAP Magazine, listed as 30 under 30 creatives. With a strong start into the industry, Amzy quickly became the go to capture some of the most memorable moments in recent popular culture.

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About Jahnavi Inniss, Future Producer Host

Jahnavi Inniss is London-based designer and creative producer.  
 
She holds a BA in Graphic Communication Design from Central Saint Martins in London, graduating in 2020. Her practice is primarily focused on surfacing lesser-known narratives, dismantling 'single stories' and providing visibility and empowerment for underrepresented communities. 
 
She often reflects on the role of designers, artists and curators and the direct influence they all have in the construction of social attitudes. Her design process involves experimenting with and evaluating a wide range of mediums as she considers the best method of communication.  
 
Recent works include her award-winning ‘Black British History Quilt’. A five-meter-long typographic quilt previously exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery, which aims to challenge current histories surrounding the existence of Black people in Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. Other works also include the intricate embroidered design of author Emma Dabiri’s latest book ‘What White People Can Do Next' for the publisher Penguin Books. 
 
In addition to designing work, she also takes on the role of the curator. She works to increase accessibility and audience engagement with archives and museums, as she is passionate about the sharing of knowledge and the documentation of history for posterity

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