The Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center featured a Lexington native in its most recent CreativeMornings Lex talk.

Jahi Chikwendiu is a UK alumnus, according to the CreativeMornings Lex’s website. He once worked for the Lexington Herald-Leader and currently works as a staff photographer for The Washington Post.

CreativeMornings Lex is a monthly meeting that celebrates creativity in the city.

Chikwendiu’s talk focused on equality, which is a larger theme within the CreativeMornings Lex organization.

Chikwendiu has recently received first place for the 2017 White House News Photographers Association’s Annual still contest under the Picture story/Feature category, with his series of photographs titled “COMING OF AGE IN A CITY FALLING APART.” Chikwendiu also received the Award of Excellence in the Portrait/Personality, Pictorial and Domestic News categories.

Chikwendui shared many of these photos during his presentation. His talk featured images and referenced both his background in math and photography. He has an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in math education, both from UK.

“When you look around, things are off kilter,” Chikwendiu explained, aided by his visuals. One memorable analogy he used throughout the talk was that of an equal sign, using it both in a literal math context and for an analogy for social equality.

Doodles Breakfast and Lunch had a food truck outside and Alfalfa provided free coffee for those who attended the talk.

The CreativeMornings organization was started by Tina Roth Eisenberg in 2008 and now spans to 173 different cities worldwide.