Ghanaian-American filmmaker, photographer and creative director Joshua Kissi, whose work celebrates the vibrance of underrepresented communities through a cultural and historical lens, has joined division7 for worldwide representation.
Raised in the Bronx, NY, Kissi grew up with an af๏ฌnity for the arts despite the lack of exposure and accessibility to creative industries. He began his journey as the co-founder of Street Etiquette, a blog documenting men’s style with a focus on Black men that became an online sensation with a large following. Street Etiquette was featured in magazines such as GQ, Complex, Essence and Fantastic Man. The New York Times published an article, “ Serious About Cool” documenting Street Etiquette’s cultural success.
While Kissi found meteoric success with Street Etiquette, filmmaking and photography were always his first love and passion. He picked up his first camera at the age of 17, and since then he has used his talent as an artist to empower communities of color while humanizing them and diminishing stereotypes and prejudices in the images he creates.
His triumphant films and photographs tell stories that are often unrecorded with intentionality, respect and care. His work is soulful, distinctive and emotive, representing a truly unique view on humanity and the world. He’s worked with a diverse list of clients including Beats by Dre, Nike, Google, NYT Style Magazine, InStyle, Vogue, and the New York Times Op Docs, to name a few.
“Joshua is perfection. Looking through his body of work, one cannot help but be moved viscerally. We couldn’t be more excited for him to be joining the division7 family,” said Kamila Prokop, who is co-managing director of division7 along with David Richards.
Kissi is also the co-founder of See in Black, a collective of 80 Black photographers with the mission of elevating Black visibility, and TONL, a company transforming stock photography to reflect the diverse people and narratives that are overlooked in traditional media today.
Kissi, who’s been featured as Inc. Magazine’s “30 under 30” for his work, observed, “Storytelling has always moved me to think grander, larger and more in depth about the world we’re presented. Telling stories from behind the lens is like capturing a sense of who a person is at their core and that alone is a privilege. We do not own stories, people or ideas, we simply have the liberty and privilege of sharing them. I hope to tell more narratives that break down walls and build more bridges. It is an absolute pleasure to be joining the division7 team alongside a talented roster of not just filmmakers but world changers in their own way. “
