Introducing a new wave of creativity, where expression lies within screens and not walls, and breadths of work span all sorts of media from hair to CDJs. An extension of V117: The Discovery Issue, we tap into a cast of emerging creatives whose innovative forms of work pave way for a New Creative Class.

Aba Mfrase-Ewur manifests creativity from her hair to her toes, literally. Prompted to define creativity, the ethereal Aba responds, “Any expression of self. Anything from painting your toenails with your teeth to the route you take to your favorite park counts as creativity!” And in spending just a few minutes with her, anybody would find the theory to be true. Radiating from the glittering gems on her two front teeth to the fluorescent tresses falling on her shoulders is pure, unrepentant self-expression. Her smile, wide and genuine too, lets out a laugh hefty enough to fill an empty room.

The self-appointed “multidisciplinary artist” takes multidisciplinary to a whole other level. Equipped with her two favorite media, “hair and film,” Mfrase-Ewur plans to take over 2019. Appearing on both ends of the lens in 2018, she has lent her photogenic spirit and her directive eye to the likes of Christopher John Rogers, Melissa, SSENSE, Opening Ceremony and more. While her list of accomplishment is comprehensive, she teases even more work in the coming months. “I have been working on a lot, but I have to keep it secret! You’ll just have to keep your eyes peeled,” she taunts. A magician never reveals her secrets. That said, Mfrase-Ewur does touch upon an on-going conversation series in development, but not much more besides the mere start of an entirely new form of expression, because more is more! “I have been teaching myself to play the guitar which is hard and super rewarding. I wish I would have started in my pop punk phase,” she  reveals.

Creativity, we learn, is no more than a word with ambitious attempts to define all that defines us. “Any expression of self,” Aba echoes. For herself, this comes from the heart, “really looking into [herself] and [her] experiences for inspiration.”