CELEBRATING ARTISTIC DIVERSITY CREDIT: ADRIAN MICHAEL ADRIAN MICHAEL: AN EYE FOR STORIES BY ELISABETH MONAGHAN FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR, Adrian Michael has been a contributor to the Denver VOICE. Specializing in street photography, Michael likes to tell people’s stories from behind a camera lens. “I am a Black artist, and I want to become a storyteller — whether that is through the medium of photography, literature, or filmmaking — those three are my main focuses,” said Michael. As a high school student, Michael bought a video recorder to explore filmmaking, and that high school hobby sparked what would soon become his outlet for artistic expression. According to Michael, he did not show his films to anyone else; instead, he made them to see how he could use the medium as a way to tell stories. “I wanted to see if I could figure out the process, so I made some cheesy films, where I played all of the characters, including the starring role,” he explained. “I set it up and pieced it together to see if I could make it flow.” As he continued to pursue the art of movie-making, he found out that one of his classmates dabbled in photography. Watching his friend’s process intrigued Michael, and he wanted to learn more. “I saw how he captured what was going on around us — all of the people within the school, the football team in action, CREDIT: ADRIAN MICHAEL 8 DENVER VOICE July 2022
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