Arts View

Oct 2025 – Dec 2025

Leonardo Thomás: Photographer

An interview by Edgar Luluca for the AGN 'Arts View' series (photography by Leonardo Thomás }

Luanda, Angola

Leonardo Thomás is a photographer and creative director based in Luanda, Angola. He is the founder of the Luanda Photo Walk, a visual storytelling platform that blends community
exploration, cultural documentation, and artistic resistance.

His work explores Angolan identity through a unique visual language shaped by urban life, history, and untold memories. Through images that provoke, preserve, and honour everyday life, Leonardo is emerging as one of Angola’s most introspective and daring visual narrators.

AGN; Let’s start at the beginning. When did your relationship with photography begin? Was it curiosity or something else?

LT; At school, we used to form groups to show off fashion and take pictures in the streets, the “Bardeados” era (laughs). I was 13. Later, a neighbor gave me a camera, and I started walking the streets, photographing people, rubbish, and everything in between.

I didn’t know then that I was looking for meaning, for something deeper behind the images.

AGN; What do people most misunderstand about you and your work?

LT; Some think I’m arrogant or that I come from a wealthy family which is untrue.
My Facebook posts are often misunderstood. I use it to release ideas. Most of the time, I’m just motivating myself not to be swallowed by doubt.

AGN; When was the moment you felt: “I’m on the right path”?

LT; There wasn’t one big moment, it was more like a series of quiet confirmations.

I remember once after my first photo exhibition, someone came up to me with shining
eyes and said, “Your image reminded me of my mother.”

That’s when I realized I was capturing emotion, memory and identity. That moment stayed
with me. It was like God telling me to keep going. I understood then that I wasn’t chasing
fame or perfection, I was chasing truth and I believe that’s always the right path.

AGN; When you look at the work of other photographers, what do you look for?

LT; I look for what I haven’t yet discovered in my own work. I try to understand their narrative, what they’re trying to say. Sometimes I ask myself, could I have done this
better?

AGN; About Luanda Photo Walk, What does it mean to you? Some think it’s just an Instagram walk. What would you say?

Lt; The Luanda Photo Walk is not just a photo walk, it’s a living archive of Angolan identity. For years, we’ve consumed visual styles imported from abroad, replicating
languages that were never ours. But there are things that only exist here. Angola has its own rhythm, texture, and truth.

The Photo Walk is my way of telling us: slow down and look closer. This is us. Every corner, every face, every chaos is a chapter of a larger story that only we can tell.

If we translate the sounds of kuduro or semba into visual language, what would that image look like? What if we turned the iconic “quadradinho” taxi into a cultural symbol as some
artists already have?

The Luanda Photo Walk is a challenge to ourselves to make that visual grammar real. It’s an act of resistance, remembrance, how we reclaim the aesthetics of our daily life and show the world that Angolan photography is not derivative, it’s original, powerful and deeply ours.

AGN; Do you remember the first photo that made you think: ‘This is art

LT; At the time, I didn’t call it art. I just wanted to make people feel something but over time, some images started to carry weight and meaning. I realized that touching emotions is also a form of art.

AGN; When do you feel most alive?

LT; When I’m walking through Luanda with a camera in my hand and no clear destination. That’s when I become fully present. The world slows down, and I begin to notice the small stories that others pass by. It’s in those moments I feel both invisible and infinite.

AGN; Has art saved you from anything?

LT; From myself.

AGN; What makes you feel truly seen?

LT; When someone understands what I meant, not just what I said.

AGN; Do you think pain is necessary to create authentic art?

LT; I used to believe that but now I think it’s a narrative we inherited, especially in Angola where pain is our common denominator. I believe art can come from life itself, from joy, reflection or even quietness.

AGN; If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? Be honest.

LT; Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe an architect because I graduated from high school as a civil construction technician. However, creativity was always going to be there.

AGN; What would your friends say is your greatest quality? And your biggest flaw?

LT; They’d probably say my greatest quality is that I believe in people often more than they believe in themselves. I’m that friend who’ll remind you of your value even when
you’ve forgotten it. I see potential where others see limitation.

As for my biggest flaw… maybe it’s that I carry too much alone. I struggle to ask for help even when I need it. I think somewhere inside me, I still feel like I have to prove I’m strong.but I’m learning that vulnerability doesn’t make you weaker, it makes you human.

AGN; Who in your family influenced you the most, and how?

LT; My sister. Always, always, always was there for me. She means the world to me. Through every uncertain phase, from teenage doubts to professional trials, she was my anchor.

She reminded me who I was when I forgot and never needed to say anything, her presence was enough to remind me that I wasn’t alone.

AGN; Tell us the kindest thing your sister or someone else has ever done for you that you’ll never forget?

LT; My sister once stayed up with me all night before a big presentation. She didn’t understand the project, but she understood me.

That taught me love doesn’t need to make sense to show up. That’s the kind of support I want to give to others too.

AGN; What’s your comfort food?

LT; A good grelhado (grilled meat), like the ones we eat on Sundays. It brings me
back to family reunions, the smoke, the laughter and of course waiting for the meat to be ready.

That’s also a reason why Sunday is my favorite day, because it always reminded me that life doesn’t have to be fast to be good.

AGN; What music do you turn to when you don’t have words?

LT; Kanye West, especially his older albums. He made it okay to feel complicated.
His music taught me that you can be confident and broken at the same time and still be brilliant.

That kind of creative courage resonates with me.

AGN; In your thoughts what role can art play in Africa’s transformation?

LT; Art in Africa is not just a tool of expression, it’s a force of reconstruction. In
Angola, storytelling through photography, music, design or performance plays a crucial role in preserving culture, confronting injustice, and reimagining the future.

When we turn our art into production, into something people see, use, feel, it becomes both a political act and a cultural one. It’s how we reclaim our narrative and show the world that we’re not just surviving systems, we’re rewriting them.

We live in a time where artists are no longer on the sidelines. As Scott Feinberg said, artists and storytellers are more important than ever not to entertain, but to provoke, reflect, and inspire real change.

Angola has everything: the creativity, the urgency and the potential. What’s missing is structured support that transforms vision into impact. If governments and institutions invest intentionally in our creatives, we won’t just make art, we’ll build a new Africa. One story, one frame, one revolution at a time.

AGN; Have you ever looked in the mirror and felt like nobody? How did you get through that?

LT; Yes, I’ve been there. I looked in the mirror and remembered where I started. That pulled me back.

AGN; Do you fear that fame might steal your essence?

LT; Never. Dreams evolve. But essence is a foundation, it stays.

AGN; Do you ever feel guilt for succeeding when others around you are still struggling?

LT; Yes. Sometimes joy comes with a weird feeling. But I remind myself that my purpose is to rise and also to bring light to where I come from. My growth has to mean more than just “escape.” It has to be a bridge.

AGN; What’s one lesson life keeps trying to teach you over and over again?

LT; To be patient. With others, with time and with myself. Everything important grows slowly and sometimes not getting what you want is the way life redirects you to something better.

AGN; Final question: If you had one minute to speak to every young African creative at once, what would you say?

LT; I’d repeat what I tell myself daily: Anticipation. Organization. Consistency. Continuous learning. Again. Again. There is no other formula.

You are not late, you are not small. Just organize your chaos, sharpen your vision, and keep building even when no one is watching. Your time is not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

Previous ‘Arts View’ features are available here; archive

Writer:
Edgar Luluca

Editor:
Ri Iyovwaye

on behalf of African Global Networks (AGN) – Oct 2025