DIASPORA—Over the course of July we'll be publishing short profiles, essays and interviews on the theme of "Afrofutures." Together these stories will be a deep dive into the way African and diaspora thinkers, technologists and artists view a future for Africans in the world and outside of it. 

Take a look at our introduction to Afrofuturism here.

Throughout this month, we'll also highlight and celebrate young, leading talents who already put into practice what a future with black people look like through their work in our daily profile series, 'NextGen.'

In our seventh edition, we catch up with Nigerian artist and director, Judie Mozie. 

With little representation of black people in fine art, Judie Mozie is aligning her own path and shaping a new narrative for African artists. Mozie is a Nigerian visual artist and director currently living in Los Angeles, California. Although she's a contemporary artist focused on creating her own lane, she has also worked with major companies like Complex, The Shade Room and Jason of Beverly Hills. Mozie has also been apart of art exhibitions in LA and even personalized clothing pieces for artists like Wizkid.

Photo courtesy of Judie Mozie.

Mozie has always been captivated by the diverse and unique varieties of the human experience and was raised to celebrate diversity with all of its infinite facets. Her art takes inspiration from a number of disciplines and is highly influenced by her Nigerian heritage. Originally disciplined in film directing, Judie uses her visual senses as a way to elevate her message. She curates the platform Cosmic Shades of Brown that features all her artwork and allows people to interact with the African artists that have inspired her along the way. She believes that it is the story of the artist that truly energizes their work.

"To me it is a way for black people to redefine their history, their present, and future," she says when speak on Afrofuturism. "It is a way for people of African descent to envision the future based off of their experiences and history.”

Photo courtesy of Judie Mozie.

She continued with the role she wants to play in the movement adding, “I want to help shape the narratives of African people by living my truth as openly and boldly as possible. I feel like it's important to show that there are so many ways to be African and that the only person, who can define you as a person, is yourself. I want to help remove the fear of individuality and encourage Africans to embrace and celebrate all facets of their identities.”

Mozie is currently working on her first solo exhibition opening August 6, 2017 that captures themes of family, strength, inner peace, and love.