For Romeo Okwara, art and football take a similar type of grit.
Following the Detroit Lions’ impressive 2023-24 season, the 28-year-old defensive end announced in March that he would be stepping away from the NFL. The former player tells Metro Times that the decision was a tough one driven by multiple factors, but one thing is for certain. His focus is now on art.
Alongside football, photography has been a long-time passion for Okwara. Through his eight years in the NFL, with two seasons playing for the New York Giants and six for the Lions, his camera never left his side.
Growing up in Nigeria, Okwara noticed his creative interests at a young age, fascinated by old family photos and inspired by his uncle who is an artist. While studying at Notre Dame, although he majored in accounting, Okwara took as many art electives as he could, getting his first camera during his junior or senior year. For an art history class study abroad trip, he was able to visit Greece, where a great professor alongside beautiful architecture and scenery roused him even further.
After college, Okwara quickly found a love for film photography. Now, his camera of choice is a Leica MP, which he describes as “sleek and discreet,” and at this point, an extension of his body.
“When I went to New York to play for the Giants, I was studying different photographers’ work, and 35mm photography, especially black and white photography, kind of stood out to me right away,” Okwara says. “I bought a 35mm camera and once I got that and started shooting film, in that format, it kind of changed the way I approached the art.”
As film can be very expensive, and one roll usually only allows for around 36 images, Okwara became more mindful of how often he clicked the shutter. “Working within those confines kind of forced me to be selective about when I chose to take a picture,” he says. “I started kind of looking at it a little bit more as an art form as opposed to just snapping away at whatever.”
In 2019 and 2021, the photographer’s work was exhibited in three Leica Gallery exhibitions in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles.
Now, Okwara is part of his first-ever Detroit show, Moments, alongside local artists Mario Moore and Jamea Richmond-Edwards. The exhibition opened at Detroit’s magazine store Periodicals, fittingly during NFL Draft weekend. It represents reflection for the three artists, who are all preparing to enter new phases of their respective careers.
Okwara is still trying to figure out what message and themes he wants his work to portray, but for now, most of his images are borne out of random in-between “moments” that showcase unique energy, movement, feeling, or memory.
In the current show, three of Okwara’s photographs are on display: one of his brother Julian, a former Lion who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, during training at the Lions facility; another of former teammate Marvin Jones dancing at another former teammate’s wedding; and the last of a model posing behind the scenes at the Marc Jacobs 40th anniversary show.
“There’s a movement within all those images that kind of helped tell a story; there’s a certain theme within those images that I really love,” Okwara says. “I just feel very grateful that they opened that space up to us and Mario wanted to include me in this. I think so highly of Mario and Jamea and their work as artists and people. They're amazing, they’re great friends of mine, and I feel very lucky and thankful that they included me in that show."
While Okwara is done playing for the Lions, he is definitely not done with Detroit.
“This is home,” he says. “Detroit’s a really special place, it’s been for me at least, and I feel like I learn a little bit more about the city every day. I think Detroit has so much to offer and it’s because of the people. I just love being here.”
Looking forward, he hopes to immerse himself in the city’s artistic community in numerous ways.
“The Detroit art scene, I think, is amazing. Detroit has been a center of the arts for years and years and years,” Okwara says. “We talk about grit on the football field, there’s grit in the art and the way that people make art and exist here. I’m very fortunate to be able to meet so many amazing artists that I love and respect and they've welcomed me and supported me. It’s just a great community and they all want to see each other succeed.”
In the fall, Okwara will begin pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art. During the program and his time in the city, Okwara hopes to continue diving deeper into his artistic expression by connecting with other passionate and talented artists.
Plus, he hopes to help provide resources to other young creative minds in the city in the process, especially photographers. He’s got some big ideas in the works and Detroiters should be on the lookout.
“I would love to see more darkrooms in Detroit and more motion picture resources being given to Detroit. I think being able to put cameras in kids' hands is a very beautiful, powerful thing,” Okwara says. “Photography has helped me so much personally. I grew up super shy and photography allowed me to approach people in a way and also capture my environment, which is just fun for me and fulfilling. I think being able to bring that resource to kids in the city, especially Black kids in the city, is very amazing. I just want that resource to be something that’s more widely available for people.”
While the Lions unfortunately won’t have Okwara any longer to play on the field, he won’t stop embodying his love for the team and the city through his work.
“Football has brought me so much in my life. I feel like being able to step away from it at this age and having something else I’m so passionate about in the arts, I’m very grateful for that and I can't wait to cheer my teammates on as they do their thing and we can get to the Super Bowl this year,” Okwara says. “I’m very happy for this next phase and just excited to figure out what my work is trying to be as an artist and I guess just take my work to the next level and fully focus my energy and my attention on the art. I’ve been doing both for a long time and I think the art was just calling my name. Everything in me was pulling me towards the art and I just had to listen.”
You can see Okwara’s work on display at Periodicals through May 12 or on his Instagram page, @romeokwara.
