A student, a model, a creative from Italy with Nigerian roots: Ark
We’ve already explored the life of an immigrant creative based in the US with dancer, model, and actress Alessadra Mai Vinh. However, there are also some creatives and talents that are from elsewhere and come to the United States through an academic journey. One of these people is Ark, an Italian-Nigerian signed international model from the South of Italy.
Ark right now resides in Los Angeles, where he’s pursuing an LLM at the Loyola Law School. We wanted to include Ark in our fashion content here on Fashion On The Beat, after being featured on stories + perspectives, a page curated by our founder dedicated to Italians of second-generation (BIPOC, API, etc.). The community of Afro-Italians and Asian Italians is small, but powerful and emerging in their actions, to represent and strong façade of Italy.
What's your take on fashion and how do you view this industry?
Fashion is one of those things that influenced and contributed to the making of what I am today. It gave me the opportunity to travel, meet and match up with other wonderful creative people from all over the world, it eventually even gave me in some cases the opportunity to have access to places that were blocked from “people like me”. As some artistic field, it has its negative side, but I’m sure that someday step by step we will change those things.
Has modeling always been part of your plans?
Nope, that’s the fun fact you actually asked for: my sister made me start modeling, it has always been a field she loved. One day she told me that I had the features to be a model, so I asked her if I could make money out of it (naively), and … boom that’s how it all began. Step by step I achieved some major goals.
What are your major plans at the moment?
At the moment I’m primarily focused on getting my specialization and continuing with the projects that I have going on in Italy. Obviously staying here gives me the opportunity to be totally self-centered in a good way and totally connected with my inner being which makes me majorly productive and creative.
Have you ever found your creative voice in Italy?
Yes, I’ve always been very creative as a kid, but at a young age, I preferred keeping it personal as I was more introspective. All of a sudden I just felt I had a lot to give and express and the best way possible for me to do that was by sharing my vision. Most of what I do or write is in Italian. I decided to come here because I felt the necessity of trying something new: you know, trying new paths and undergoing new challenges for a while… that’s what keeps me breathing.
What are some of the things you wish to accomplish soon as an international student and creative in LA?
I came here to improve my knowledge in Cyber Security and Data Privacy, so this is my main goal for the year. I also have other things I’m working on that I can’t talk about it right now… but it’s coming!
