TECNO and Angélica Dass launch "100 Portraits of Becoming," a Global Portrait Initiative

TECNO and artist Angélica Dass launch "100 Portraits of Becoming," a global initiative capturing 100 stories on identity, starting in Kenya.

TECNO x Angelica Dass 100 Portraits

Sharing stories through portraits

Smartphone maker TECNO and Brazilian-Spanish visual artist Angélica Dass have launched "100 Portraits of Becoming," a two-year initiative spanning five countries that began in Nairobi, Kenya. 

The project aims to photograph and document the personal stories of 100 individuals around the world, with organizers describing it as an effort to address questions of representation and identity as artificial intelligence increasingly shapes how people are depicted.

Angelica Dass

According to the companies, the initiative will produce 100 portraits of people from diverse backgrounds, each paired with an account of their personal journey. The project combines TECNO's imaging technology with Dass's approach to portraiture, which the artist says centers on individuality rather than categorization.

Jack Guo, General Manager at TECNO, said the project reflects concerns about how images shape perception. "Every image shapes assumptions—why it matters, who matters, and how people are understood. That makes a fair and accurate representation increasingly important in the AI era. But beyond representation lies a bigger question: who is the real person behind the image?" Guo said. 

Through this project, we want to move beyond representation as technical accuracy alone and explore representation as recognition—enabling technology not only to capture people faithfully, but to help people feel truly seen. By moving beyond bias, labels, and stereotypes, we hope to build a future where technology reflects people more authentically and allows the world to understand them more fully. Truthful representation is the foundation of genuine human understanding, Guo continued

Dass, who has built a career around questions of identity and representation, said the collaboration extends her existing photographic practice. 

As a photographer, I realize that I can be a channel for others to communicate. The '100 Portraits of Becoming' initiative with TECNO creates such a channel for people to speak for themselves and be seen on their own terms. That is why this collaboration with TECNO felt meaningful to me, she said.

My portrait practice has always been less about documenting appearance and more about creating space for people to exist beyond assumptions. What moved me about this collaboration is the shared vision and the possibility of bringing that intention into a medium used by millions every day. I am excited that this initiative is not about defining people—it is about allowing identity to remain open, layered, and human. Because being visible is not the same as being understood. True recognition begins when we are seen as we really are.

Background: Angélica Dass and Humanæ

Dass is known for Humanæ, a long-running portrait series that examines racial identity by cataloguing skin tones outside conventional categories. Her 2016 TED Talk on the subject has been viewed more than two million times, and her work has appeared at institutions including the World Economic Forum, UNESCO, the American Museum of Natural History, the Migration Museum in London, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, as well as in publications such as National Geographic, Vogue, and Foreign Affairs.

One thing I appreciate about the '100 Portraits of Becoming' initiative is our shared belief that portraiture is not simply about recording appearance visually. It is a way of questioning assumptions, challenging labels, and creating space for people to be seen and understood beyond stereotypes," Dass said.

Project scope and format

Dass will photograph 100 people across five countries, starting in Kenya. Participants register through a dedicated website and are photographed in natural light, without filters, wearing clothing of their choosing. Alongside their portraits, participants share accounts of personal growth and the cultural or societal changes they have navigated.

Different portraits

The portraits and accompanying stories will be published on the project's website as part of what organizers are calling a "Living Archive," intended to serve as an ongoing record of personal narratives as AI continues to influence how people are represented.

Technology used

The portraits are being captured on TECNO's CAMON 50 Ultra smartphone, using the company's Universal Tone imaging technology, first introduced in 2023. TECNO describes Universal Tone as an AI-based system designed to capture a wide range of skin tones, built on a color card referencing 372 skin tones and what the company describes as the industry's largest skin tone database. 

Angelica Dass is using the TECNO CAMON 50 Ultra

TECNO says the technology addresses a longstanding issue in mobile photography in which imaging systems trained on limited datasets have misrepresented people with darker or non-standard skin tones through over-brightening or underexposure.

Launch in Kenya

Organizers said Kenya was chosen as the starting point in part because of its young population and its profile as a hub for technology innovation, sometimes referred to as the "Silicon Savannah." The inaugural portraits include entrepreneurs, farmers, dancers, artists, and other participants from various fields.

Alexander Odhiambo, a Kenyan participant and co-founder of Solutech Limited, an enterprise software company serving manufacturers and distributors across Africa, was quoted in project materials.

People are always quick to tell you what you are and where you fit. I stopped waiting for that. The story that counts is the one I'm writing myself.

What's next

Following the launch in Kenya, the initiative is scheduled to travel to the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil over the next two years. 

The first portraits and stories from the project are set to be published online in early August.

What do you guys think?