Emmanuel Sanchez Monsalve

Raised in Miami by Colombian immigrants, Emmanuel Sanchez Monsalve took his love of art, dance, and fashion to New York City in 2015 to build a career.

With a background in dance and experience in fashion—including an internship at Wilhemina Models—Monsalve cultivated a distinct photographic style, with an intuitive knack for casting and composition that emphasizes the human body. His images feel at once raw and intimate as well as slick and stylized.

Monsalve’s unique perspective has led to work shooting stories for major fashion publications like i-D, GQ, Vogue Italia, Harper’s Bazaar, Document Journal, and Teen Vogue. Additionally, he’s worked with music artists like Bad Bunny and acclaimed designers like Oscar de la Renta and Christopher John Rogers. You can check out Monsalve’s latest projects on Creatively here. 

What is the first creative project you remember? 

I always used to paint when I was a child. My mom is one of twelve kids and her brothers are painters and sculptors; I’ve always been inspired by my uncles growing up. I remember drawing an older man from an art book once, and I remember everyone’s reaction. It made me feel good to think that I was continuing a legacy. I don’t paint as much now, but I use photography as a form of art. Does that count as my first creative project? [Laughs]

Describe your aesthetic in three words. 

Fluid. Mysterious. Intimate. My favorite thing is to push gender.  

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on? 

About a year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Tahiti with stylist Alexander Julian and my best friend, Lina Palacios. We had the honor to photograph  Nonahere (a Tahitian dance team) and two of Tahiti’s top models. That week, our producer, Manu de Schoenburg, took us all around the island of Papeete to location scout. It was the most magical adventure I’ve ever been on and to share it with my best friend was epic. I’ve realized that shooting real people in their own country and environment, as well as learning about their culture, is very fulfilling to me. I left that trip knowing that traveling and photographing culture will be one of my biggest priorities as a photographer.  

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself? 

This one project was one of my first international editorials shooting outside of the country. I worked with one of the grumpiest fashion editors I’ve ever met. She was very negative and patronizing. Unfortunately, I let her get the best of me, made me question myself, and brought out many insecurities during the shoot. But what I learned from this experience is to not let people’s energy affect you and your work. I had to learn about my self-worth, and this experience has made me stronger. I believe that I had to go through that to learn how to value myself and my career.

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with or something you’re taught? 

As humans, we’re curious. Through curiosity, we create, even without knowing. It can be both.

What’s the last dream you had? 

Lately, my dreams have been pretty dark, but I did have a positive one last week. I was in Colombia riding horses with my cousins. That’s actually one of my dreams: to own a farm in Pereira, Colombia.

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

I want people to see my work and feel inspired and moved. I want my platform to express all the types of beauty in our era, in our generation. That’s why I feel as though representation is the most important part for me.  I want to go deeper into my culture, for sure.

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