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Standing out in Sweden: Photographer Lola Akinmade
DW (English)
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7/7/2025
Photographer and author Lola Akinmade lives in Sweden. Despite her success, does she experience racism or discrimination because she comes from Nigeria?
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News
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00:00
She grew up in Nigeria, studied in the U.S., and now lives in Sweden.
00:05
Lola Akinmade is one of the most successful female photographers in Europe
00:10
in an industry that is dominated by white men.
00:13
She specializes in travel photography.
00:16
How did she achieve this?
00:18
When I was starting out, there weren't a lot of travel photographers
00:22
that were Nigerian, black, African women.
00:24
So, it was having to prove myself to show that I have my own eye.
00:31
Her unique perspective is what has made Lola successful.
00:35
It's also made her an international best-selling author.
00:38
It seems that for her, anything is possible.
00:41
In Sweden, I can live a quiet, happy life by a lake,
00:45
somewhere eating canabula every day.
00:47
But the minute I want to be the CEO of IKEA, or Ericsson,
00:51
then we have a problem.
00:52
Sexism, migration, racism, her books also deal with these topics,
00:58
issues that she's faced with regularly, even in progressive Sweden.
01:03
As a travel photographer, Lola has visited more than 70 countries.
01:08
Her photos can be found in renowned publications
01:10
like The New York Times, The Guardian, and Vogue.
01:13
When she began her career, many believed that she wouldn't be that successful
01:17
simply because of her background.
01:19
But that is something Lola sees as one of her strengths.
01:22
What you may bring back as a white man can be very different
01:31
than what I bring back as a black woman from the same place.
01:36
You know, my travel photography, I've got a unique visual style.
01:40
I love rich colors and a lot of contrast.
01:43
And that comes from my background, you know, in growing up in Nigeria
01:48
with a lot of rich colors and contrast as well.
01:52
Travel photography is Lola's trade, but her Afro-Swede project is a matter close to her heart.
01:58
Her aim with this series is to show what integration means to her.
02:02
She plans to take hundreds or even thousands of portraits of Swedish residents with African roots
02:08
who, like Lola, have had to fight for their place in a society that is predominantly white.
02:14
Visually, she plays with the Swedish national colors blue and yellow.
02:18
The Afro-Swede project is one that's dear to my heart.
02:24
You know, it talks about what it means to celebrate all your identities.
02:29
It's a project about integration versus assimilation
02:33
because assimilation says you have to be one or the other
02:37
or you have to be more of one and less of the other.
02:41
Well, integration says, no, I can be proudly booked.
02:43
Lola isn't only a successful photographer, she's also an internationally renowned author.
02:50
Her books have been translated into 18 languages.
02:55
In novels such as Everything is Not Enough,
02:57
she tells stories of black women and their problems in Swedish society.
03:03
One of the things that a lot of immigrants or new citizens or new residents battle with
03:09
is this feeling of having to stay grateful forever.
03:12
And what that means is society sees you as not having anything of value to give.
03:18
Just stay grateful to me for letting you in.
03:22
In one of her early books, Lagom, The Swedish Secret of Living Well,
03:27
Lola is a kind of psychoanalyst of Swedish society.
03:31
In Sweden, lagom means healthy moderation.
03:35
One thing I realized about Lagom is that it's actually the Swedish way of handling stress, right?
03:43
So things that bring unnecessary stress into your life, you try to remove it.
03:48
Lola has been living in Sweden since 2010, but no matter where she is,
03:52
there's one thing that she's always been able to rely on.
03:55
My full name is Onara Lola Olua.
03:58
It's a Yoruba name, and it means God's ways are wonderful.
04:01
God moves the mysterious ways.
04:03
And once I found out the meaning of that name, I just, you know,
04:08
it guides the way I move through life, knowing that there's something bigger than me.
04:12
Whether with words or pictures, the stories Lola Akinmadee tells offer new perspectives and new insights.
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