Kamoinge Workshop
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The Kamoinge Workshop is a photography collective that was founded in 1963. In 2013, the group stood as “the longest continuously running non-profit group in the history of photography.” The collective was born when two groups of
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
photographers came together in collaboration. The first group, named Kamoinge was founded by Louis Draper, James "Jimmie" Mannas, Al Fennar, and Herbert Randall. The second group, named Group 35 consisted of photographers Ray Francis, Earl Jones, Louis Draper, Herman Howard, Calvin Mercer, and Mel Dixon. Louis Draper was especially crucial to its founding. The first director of the group was Roy DeCarava, who led the collective from 1963 to 1965.


Naming

Al Fennar suggested the newly united group of artists to name themselves ''Kamoinge,'' after reading
Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He played a significant role in the ...
’s book, written in 1962, called ''
Facing Mount Kenya ''Facing Mount Kenya'', first published in 1938, is an anthropological study of the Kikuyu people of Central Kenya. It was written by native Kikuyu and future Kenyan president Jomo Kenyatta. Kenyatta writes in this text, "The cultural and historic ...
-- Kamoinge'' can be translated to “a group of people who are working together” from the Kikuyu language, which is spoken in Kenya primarily. The intent of the group is to cultivate a supportive and yet critical artistic community that captures black life in all of the photographers' vast experiences of it. Kamoinge member Deborah Willis is quoted in ''Timeless: Photographs by Kamoinge'' as saying “We have seen countless images of black life across the diaspora and I consider these photographs to be a mosaic of the black experience." The group as a unit captures photographs of black life in its complexity rather than in a stereotypical or clichéd manner.


Membership

In late 1963, Kamoinge adopted members Herb Robinson, David Carter, Adger Cowans, and
Anthony Barboza Anthony Barboza (born 1944 in New Bedford, Massachusetts) is a photographer, historian, artist and writer. With roots originating from Cape Verde, and work that began in commercial art more than forty years ago, Barboza's artistic talents and ...
into the collective. Beuford Smith became a member in 1965, and the first female member to join the collective was Ming Smith, who joined in 1972—also in that year C. Daniel Dawson became a member. In 2001, Collette V. Fournier, Budd Williams, and
Eli Reed Ellis (Eli) Reed (born 1946) is an American photographer and photojournalist. Reed was the first full-time black photographer at Magnum Agency and is the author of several books, including ''Beirut: City of Regrets'' and ''Black In America''. E ...
were invited by Kamoinge members to join the collective. In 2003, Spencer Burnett, June Truesdale, and Gerald Cyrus joined. In 2004, Mark Blackshear, Jerry Jack, and Russell K. Frederick joined, and in 2005 Salimah Ali and Radcliffe Roye joined. Also in 2004,
Anthony Barboza Anthony Barboza (born 1944 in New Bedford, Massachusetts) is a photographer, historian, artist and writer. With roots originating from Cape Verde, and work that began in commercial art more than forty years ago, Barboza's artistic talents and ...
became president of Kamoinge. In 2009 Darryl Sivad and Ronald Herd joined Kamoinge. As of 2014, there had been 30 members of Kamoinge, including:
Anthony Barboza Anthony Barboza (born 1944 in New Bedford, Massachusetts) is a photographer, historian, artist and writer. With roots originating from Cape Verde, and work that began in commercial art more than forty years ago, Barboza's artistic talents and ...
(President), Adger W. Cowans (Vice President), Herb Robinson (Treasurer), Ronald Herard,
Herbert Randall Herbert Eugene Randall, Jr. (born December 16, 1936, in the Bronx) is an American photographer who had documented the effects of the Civil Rights Movement. Randall is of Shinnecock, African-American and West Indian ancestry. Education Randall ...
(founder), Collette V. Fournier, John Pinderhughes, Salimah Ali, Ming Smith, Beuford Smith (President Emeritus), Russell Frederick, Gerald Cyrus, June Truesdale, Mark Blackshear, C. Daniel Dawson, Shawn Walker (Founder), Radcliffe Roye, Albert Fennar (Founder), Darryl Sivad, Budd Williams, Jimmie Mannas,
Eli Reed Ellis (Eli) Reed (born 1946) is an American photographer and photojournalist. Reed was the first full-time black photographer at Magnum Agency and is the author of several books, including ''Beirut: City of Regrets'' and ''Black In America''. E ...
, and Frank Stewart. Deceased members include Louis Draper (Founder and president from 1990 to 1997), James Ray Frances (Founder), Steve Martin, Jerry Jack, Herman Howard, Calvin Wilson, and Toni Parks.


Works, exhibitions, affiliations

From 1964 to 1965, Kamoinge members showed their work in two exhibitions titled ''Theme Black'' and ''The Negro Woman'' in a Harlem brownstone on a street known as Strivers Row. Since its founding in 1963, members of the collective have exhibited their works in the
International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a photography museum and school at 84 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. ICP's photographic collection, reading room, and archives are at Mana Contemporary in Jer ...
, Countee Cullen Library, Harlem's
Studio Museum The Studio Museum in Harlem is an African-American art museum at 144 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Founded in 1968, the museum collects, preserves and interprets art created by African A ...
, as well as a host of other sites. The collective has also hosted lectures and published numerous portfolios. Kamoinge produced fifteen portfolios in its first year, ten of which were sent to institutions including The University of Ghana,
Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
, and
Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the Southe ...
, as well as to the
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,
Schomburg Library The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) be ...
, and the Museum of Negro History. In 1965, Roy DeCarava put on a solo show, titled ''US,'' at the Countee Cullen Library in Harlem. In 1969, he had a survey exhibition at the
Studio Museum The Studio Museum in Harlem is an African-American art museum at 144 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Founded in 1968, the museum collects, preserves and interprets art created by African A ...
in Harlem titled ''Through Black Eyes'', where he addressed the black experience in America and its relation to black aesthetic. In 1972, Joe Walker, Joe Crawford, and Beuford Smith began to publish Kamoinge's work in the ''Black Photographers Annual''. This work came out to make up four volumes and included artists from across the United States. In 1974, Some of the photographs taken by members of Kamoinge were displayed at a gallery exhibit for the
International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a photography museum and school at 84 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. ICP's photographic collection, reading room, and archives are at Mana Contemporary in Jer ...
, which caused the group to gain publicity. In Harlem, NY, from 1998 to 1999, through the efforts of Kamoinge member Shawn Walkers, the collective became affiliated with the Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship (IYE). In 2001, Kamoinge members
Anthony Barboza Anthony Barboza (born 1944 in New Bedford, Massachusetts) is a photographer, historian, artist and writer. With roots originating from Cape Verde, and work that began in commercial art more than forty years ago, Barboza's artistic talents and ...
and Beuford Smith were consultants to the
Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...
Exhibit, “Committed to the Image: A Half Century of Black Photography in America." In 2004, Kamoinge Inc. published their first book, titled '' The Sweet Breath of Life.'' In 2006 Kamoinge's Mark Blackshear alongside artist Daniel Simmons curated “Black Music,” an exhibit for the
Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...
(BAM). In 2007, the first showing of “Revealing the Face of Katrina” at the HP Gallery at Calumet Photo, NY opened. The exhibition was curated by Kamoinge members Radcliffe Roye, C. Daniel Dawson, Russel Frederick, and John Pinderhughes. A second showing opened at the Gordon Parks Gallery at the College of New Rochelle at the Bronx Campus in 2009. In 2013,''Timeless: Photographs of Kamoinge'' by
Anthony Barboza Anthony Barboza (born 1944 in New Bedford, Massachusetts) is a photographer, historian, artist and writer. With roots originating from Cape Verde, and work that began in commercial art more than forty years ago, Barboza's artistic talents and ...
, Herb Robinson, Quincy Troupe, and Vincent Alabiso was published. The group had been collectively working on putting the book together since 2010. “Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop” exhibition will take place at the
Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...
from July until October 2020. The exhibition “chronicles the formative years of the Kamoinge Workshop” and “focuses on influential works of founding Kamoinge members during the first two decades of the collective." The exhibition will also be shown at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts from February 1, 2020 - June 14, 2020.


Reception

In July 1966, Swiss editor and photographer Allan Portei published a Kamoinge portfolio in an issue of ''
Camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
'' titled “Harlem,” despite the majority of pictures being taken outside of Harlem. Deborah Willis says in ''Timeless: Photographs by Kamoinge'', “We have seen countless images of black life across the diaspora and I consider these photographs to be a mosaic of the black experience." In 1972, Roy Gibson described the foundations of Kamoinge as deriving from “a common need to form black esthetic.” In 1996, Peter Gelassi said “The Harlem neighborhood was both its amoinge’sessential subject and intended principle audience,” despite few Kamoinge photographers living in or photographing Harlem exclusively. Beuford Smith, in a 2001 interview, reflected on the misconceptions of black aesthetic, noting, “I think black aesthetic is different for everyone… I think it is based on how you live as a black person."


References


External links


B&H Photography Podcast: Kamoinge Collective and "The Black Woman Power and Grace."Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop.
* Delphine Diallo.
Shooting Stars: Delphine Diaw Diallo
'' *Edwin Mason, John (2013).
Louis Draper, Plucked From Obscurity.
' *Estrin, James (2011).
Love, Family and Change in Brooklyn.
'
Freeman Library, Black Photographers Annual.Harlem Studio Museum.Russel Frederick.
{{authority control African-American photographers 20th-century American photographers Jazz photographers African-American cultural history American artist groups and collectives Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century African-American artists 21st-century African-American people