Photos By (Top to Bottom, Left to Right): Liam Woods, Alexus Diaz, Esther Sweeney, Gracie Hammond, Clara Watt
We’re thrilled to share that Noun Project is partnering with Black Women Photographers (BWP) on a new editorial series highlighting the work of Black and African creators from around the world. Each month, we will be sharing a new interview feature with a member of the Black Women Photographers community, celebrating their work and shining a light on their career paths, creative processes, and more.
Black Women Photographers was founded in 2020 by Polly Irungu as a global community, directory, and hub of over 2,100 Black and African creatives spanning 60+ countries and 35+ U.S. states. To date, the organization has provided over $185,000 in financial grants to Black creatives. Dedicated to providing a resource for the industry’s gatekeepers, BWP supports its members by promoting their work in an active database distributed to brands, photo editors, directors, curators, and art buyers. The collective also offers a range of free educational resources including workshops, virtual and in-person events, and an annual $50,000 grant fund. To join the organization, participate in programming, and connect with other photographers, visit https://blackwomenphotographers.com.
Stay tuned for the first interview in the series: a conversation with Black Women Photographers Executive Director Beth Wairimũ Irũngũ.
Here are just a few of the many incredible photographers from the Black Women Photographers community:
Alexus Diaz
Alexus Diaz, also known as Lexshotya, is a Los Angeles-based portrait and fashion photographer with over a decade of experience. Alongside her photography expertise, she serves as a creative director, bringing her unique vision to life in various projects. She officially launched her business in 2020, specializing in studio photography. In addition to her photography pursuits, Alexus is deeply passionate about studio lighting and believes in making it accessible to all enthusiasts.
Alisa Speese
Alisa Speese is a self-taught photographer working in the street and social documentary genres. Her work is characterized by candid photos of people captured on streets throughout the world. She currently lives In Panamá and uses photography to express the beauty of its people and terrain.
My Name is Panamá is an ongoing personal project exploring mountain, beach, and city life in the isthmus of Panamá. The work relies on an intersection of street and documentary techniques and reflects unique interpretations of the culture and lifestyle of Panamanian peoples.
Anouchka Ophélie Agbayissah
Anouchka Ophélie Agbayissah is a self-taught photographer whose work encompasses many genres and cultures, and focuses on human connection. She is a child of the African Diaspora: a Parisian with Beninese, Togolese, and Ghanaian heritage. Her artistic purpose is to document the spiritual, emotional, and physical reconnection to home and heritage.
The photos are from an ongoing project called, The Homecoming Journey: Home.
Benicia King
Seattle-born and raised between Louisiana and Los Angeles, photographer and businesswoman Benicia King has multiple cultural influences that reflect upon her work. With her family’s bicoastal legacy, she creates from an ethereal place combining her experiences of entertainment, portraiture, and fine art. Her strong use of shadows and light reflects from her perspective of embracing all facets of human beings – ”We all have a light and dark side to ourselves, no matter how hard we try to maintain an image or persona.“
Clara Watt
Clara is an award-winning Senegalese-Canadian visual artist and documentary photographer, whose work explores cultural identity and social justice issues including racial discrimination, gender and women’s issues.
Tresses – Girls living at Les Foyers de Tambacounda braid each other’s hair. Senegal 2022
Bernadette & Nicholas’ Feet – Bernadette is one of the seven supervisors overseeing that the girls at Les Foyers de Tambacounda are healthy and happy. She lives there with her son Nicholas, who is named after the founder of Le Korsa, Nicolas Fox Weber. Senegal 2022.
DeLovie Kwagala
DeLovie Kwagala, They/Them; is the first non-binary queer photographer and social activist from Kampala, Uganda. They are self-taught and currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Their work explores narratives around Identity, Belonging, Social Injustices, and Gender-Sexuality with the intent to not sexualize, fetishize or stigmatize; inspired by their experience and those of others.
These images are from DeLovie’s series “I Am Not My Trauma,” a project recording the terstimonies of 15 survivors of an abusive regime at an unregistered girls’ shelter on Bugala island.
Esther Sweeney
Esther Sweeney is a lawyer and an advocate of the high court of Kenya turned independent self-taught Kenyan photographer based in Nairobi. Due to her passion for telling stories through the lens, she decided to pursue full-time photography. Esther’s work primarily focuses on Women, Black People, identity, social issues, the culture, the spirit of Africa, African people, and she uses vibrant hues to reflect that.
These images are from a collection of Esther’s personal work to capture the beauty of African people.
Gracie Hammond
Gracie’s passion for photography has been growing since she was a child. Her work is portrait and fashion focused, and she is captivated by people and their stories. For Gracie, photography is more than a job, it’s part of who she is. When it comes to her work, Gracie does everything possible to produce the best images for her clients and create something special and unique.
Kate Sterlin
Kate Sterlin is a photographer and writer currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. Her talent and passion for storytelling is a rich part of her artistic vision. Her work has always been deeply personal and began with striking portraits of her father. She has developed a large body of work in the categories of documentary street photography and intimate portraiture. Her methods are rooted in a purist style and she’s after the truth.
I like to tell stories. The stories that happen in a moment, an expression, an arrangement of form and composition, of thought and communication from both sides of the camera. I try to be close to that story and somehow capture it undisturbed – to frame the ordinary moments that tell a personal narrative, an intimate portrait.
Liam Woods
Liam’s photography breathes life into moments, capturing the pulse of vulnerability within Queer Black and Brown communities. With a mission to empower and uplift, their images speak to resilience and authentic expression. Liam has partnered with a range of brands and publications including People, Vogue Paris, The New York Times, Apple, and Levis. You can read Noun Project’s interview with Liam as part of our 2024 list of top photographers here.
Nia Ross
Nia Ross is a Bronx, NY native who founded Nini Michelle Visuals in 2018. As a photographer, her goal is to put the overlooked at the forefront of beauty. Capturing Black and Brown women in a light she saw them in, royalty. Ross is currently based in Silver Spring, Maryland where she does her Commercial, Editorial, Fashion, and Portrait Photography. To learn more about Nia Ross and her work, visit her website.
Ololade Lawal
Ololade Lawal is a 26 year-old portrait, documentary photographer and visual artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. Her work focuses on documenting aspects of her life experience, as it relates to socio-cultural themes around identity; African identity, race and representation. Through her work, she aims to present a more encompassing perspective of everyday mundane life in Nigeria.
Sandy Adams
After studying photography at Rochester Institute of Technology where she earned a BFA in photojournalism, Sandy spent 30 years in public service before returning to photography. Her work often centers on nature and photography is Sandy’s creative outlet, solace, time to reflect, and time to rejuvenate.
Photos (Left to Right): Break Through; Sweet Memories
Sherie Margaret Ngigi
Sherie Margaret Ngigi is a Kenyan fine art photographer based in Nairobi whose work is shaped by the experiences and complex pressures on Kenyan women, and her journey into womanhood. By taking images of women, she also captures herself and drives the need to bring these issues to the limelight, particularly as they are still considered taboo subjects in her society.
Women and Lables: We live in a culture of labels. Whether we like it or not, we will be judged by how we look, how we act, or the choices we make. Society continues to hold expectations of how women “should” behave, which are not always aligned with what we want or what will allow us to succeed, and when we don’t meet these expectations, the judgment can be harsh.
Murkey Waters V: Murky Waters is my way of examining the challenges that women still face in society, by illustrating the positions we are forced into, and the situations that different groups of women find themselves in.
Tobi Sobowale
Tobi Sobowale also known as SHOBO is a British-Nigerian Multidisciplinary Artist and Photographer from South London. Specialising in Beauty and Fashion photography, she has been shooting professionally since 2020. She has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Architecture. Her work primarily looks at capturing the overlooked quieter expressions of people, primarily black women. She explores the complexity and dynamism of the black woman who is often presented as strong. Through visual storytelling, Tobi uses colour, composition, and lighting to evoke emotion and thought for those who experience the work she creates. Due to her own battles with insecurities and self-confidence, she aims to empower and impact the people she photographs as well as the people who view her work.
Photos of Sindy Ofori, from photo series ‘ENDS.’, 2022.
To learn more about Black Women Photographers, join the community, and explore educational opportunities, visit their website and follow BWP on Instagram.
*All photos and photographer credits courtesy of Black Women Photographers.
