Morgan – Nigeria Country Director
Morgan Otaburuagu is an award winning photographer based in Lagos Nigeria. Born in 1997 in Abia State, Nigeria, he began his photography journey with a keystone camera at eight years old.
Spending his formative years in Lagos has deeply influenced Morgan’s outlook and work. The city’s energy, resilience, youth culture, and bold colours have shaped his visual style and his emphasis on strength, confidence, and self-ownership in his subjects. Lagos, he says, taught him that anything is possible and remains central to his identity and artistic voice. From young Morgan always had an interest in fashion from reading his mom’s Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar magazines. These sparked his interest in a career in fashion. However, throughout his childhood Morgan always held an interest in photography too, but it wasn’t until around September 2017, when Morgan discovered that photography could become a career after a successful photoshoot. Through YouTube tutorials, dedication and his iPhone 7 in hand, Morgan began his photography career. When his friends who were models Morgan introduced him to the world of professional fashion photography Morgan decided this would be the route his photography career would take.
In 2020, Morgan released one of his earliest projects, About Black Diamond, which drew critical acclaim from all over the world for its powerful societal and political messages. It challenged the beauty standards of the fashion industry in Nigeria and the wider world. Morgan aimed to highlight the stigmatism surrounding darker women in the fashion industry in Nigeria. With 77% of women in Nigeria having used skin bleaching products, which oftentimes have negative effects on their health, Morgan saw it necessary to combat negative perceptions surrounding darker skin through his work and highlight the inherent beauty of blackness.
Morgan Otaburuagu at PhotoBasel 2024
Morgan Otaburuagu, Nigeria Country Director for CoT
From there Morgan’s career went from strength to strength and in 2023 he held his first solo exhibition in Doyle Wham, London, the UK’s first and only contemporary African photography gallery. This project, About In Bloom, was simultaneously one of monumental personal significance to Morgan. It explored the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth, themes of great significance to Morgan after losing both his parents in 2021. Morgan explored these themes through the seasonal blossoming and death of flowers.
Morgan became involved in Colour of Tomorrow after executive director Lida discovered his work at PhotoBasel in 2024. Morgan saw the association's goal of impacting the younger generations through art as one that aligned directly with him. From there he organised the association’s first initiative in Nigeria which focused on young ballerinas at the Leap of Dance Academy in Lagos. Morgan said that this experience was so humbling to see how passionate they were and how his support for them had such a huge impact on the ballerinas and the hope it gave them. Through keeping the photos in black and white Morgan preserved the raw emotions of the girls as well as the passion and authenticity experienced by all in the moment. Morgan’s work also marked the association's expansion from just Afghanistan to a global organisation. In that same year Morgan also judged at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s annual staff photography competition in London, which he stated was also a huge accomplishment for him.
As Morgan looks to the future he hopes to keep growing his personal career through more exhibitions on a global level. He has said that he would love to exhibit in places like Australia and New Zealand and broaden his storytelling to include women from different cultures worldwide. Additionally, he would like to host exhibitions for Colour of Tomorrow in Nigeria and around the world from which he would be able to donate 100% of the money raised from sales to the association. Through Morgan's work and commitment to Colour of Tomorrow he looks to have an impact globally through art as a means to spread hope, curiosity, originality and joy to the next generation.
Written by Dara McMahon
