Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mahdi Atif. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mahdi, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I’m grateful my parents give me the space to figure this path out. They’re very supportive of whatever passion I choose to pursue and never attempt to guide or force my down a path they perceive as “right” or “correct.” They told me early on that if I’m happy and fulfilled, that’s what’s most important to them. That’s top tier parenting.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I like to think I’ve been a photographer since I was 7. That’s the earliest time I can remember having a disposable film camera in my hand. I wasn’t doing anything profound or ground breaking, just photographing random or intentional things on trips with my mom or taking pictures of my friends. I didn’t start actively photographing with intent until high school. I was apart of a journalism workshop through Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI and I really latched on to photography. One of the instructors let me use their DSLR for part of the program. That was my initial spark. That winter I pitched to family members to borrow money for my own camera and I’ve been photographing ever since.

When I started, I was trying to find connection between myself and the world around me. What were the things I wanted to see was the main question I was seeking to answer with my photos. As time moved on, I became more interested in what I was actually seeing and where my eyes were naturally being drawn. Lately, I’ve been defining my own understanding of Black life in the Midwest. Through a blend of portraiture & photojournalism, I am seeking to shed light on the Black Midwestern identity. There’s a major coastal mentality in America and I want people to pay more attention to the Midwest and see what we have to offer here, how we live here, how we love here. How we survive here against all odds. I truly believe the Midwest makes the best art and the best people.

As my photography shifted, I found myself longing for another artistic outlet to express myself. I wanted something that used a different part of my brain and that turned into DJing. I started making mixes on Soundcloud during the pandemic and transitioned to putting on my own events. My philosophy with DJing is to play great music. It can be music everybody knows or music 5 people might know, I create a musical journey for my listeners to explore. I love sharing music and when I find something that’s great I want the whole world to know about it. There is so much music in the world and I hear too many people say there is nothing new that interests them. I do the digging so they don’t have to. They can just come to an event or listen to a mix and trust that they’ll find a new favorite song.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best thing society can do is to spend more money on the arts. Artists spend years of their lives to create something and it’s undervalued. You can spend $10 a month to listen to almost every album ever. Albums artists spent 100 times that to create. Creative jobs are often underpaid and the first to go when cuts are made. People think being a creative is easy and shouldn’t cost much. There is a value gap between an artists work and what a consumer thinks it should be worth. Creativity keeps the world moving, and we deserve to make a living and not struggle trying to make the world a more beautiful place.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist for me are the connections and relationships I’m able to develop through art. I’ve met all types of people I never would have known if not for the works I create from my creative impulses. Gaining lifelong friends and colleagues from taking a photograph is a different kind of special.

Contact Info:

• Website: freakishnerd.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/freakishnerd
• Twitter: twitter.com/freakishnerd

Image Credits
Mahdi Atif