‘The Best Thing’: Adrian Octavius Walker captures Chicago’s rising stars

‘The Best Thing’: Inspired by a quote from Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel, Beloved, the award-winning photographer, Adrian Octavius Walker, celebrates the work of four inspiring women entrepreneurs in this photo essay, shot at Soho House Chicago.

‘For me, it’s important to put Black women forward, especially in the workplace, because they are often downplayed for who they are and what they do. I want this work to educate other people on what they could be doing in their lives and careers, no matter what age they are,’ he says.

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Every day, I watched my neighbours choose Starbucks over a local Black and gay-owned cafe and got curious about why we make the decisions that we make with our purchasing power. There were a ton of super-dope businesses and freelancers, specifically woman and minority-owned, who were not getting the visibility they deserved. I wanted to make space for them to be supported and celebrated. Refinecltv started as a hobby to create a directory. The further I got into the process of building, I realised that a directory alone won’t sustain the vision, but community could.
- IB Majekodunmi | Founder of refinecltv