Meet the photographers behind our new Getty 25 Celebrates Crenshaw exhibition:
Crenshaw Remembers: Cultural Treasures of the District
From left to right: Halline Overby, Russell Hamilton, Roz Kumari, Da’Shaunae Marisa and Jeremy C. Davis
With special thanks to Halline Overby and Jamaal Hasef, LA Commons is excited to bring together a group of five Black photographers in Los Angeles with a cultural connection to the Crenshaw District to explore the power of their artform at this moment and the role that they can play in using their photography to promote narrative change.
This team of photographers - Halline Overby, Russell Hamilton, Roz Kumari, Da’Shaunae Marisa and Jeremy C. Davis bring diverse perspectives to their art but have powerfully taken up the challenge to use their different points of view to paint a compelling portrait of the neighborhood. From celebrations to businesses, places, artists and healers, the dynamic, affirming energy of Leimert Park shines through these images.
Halline “Haylow” Overby is a multimedia creative focused on narrative storytelling and documentation. As a specialist in photography and video, his mission lies in amplifying voices, stories, and images of Black and people of color, as well as the spaces and places that they occupy.
IG: @Hay.low
“Leimert on a Sunday Afternoon” is a series of photos shot in 2017 on a Konica c35. While the photos depict the neighborhood as a place for celebration and gathering at the plaza, they also show a side that is quiet, peaceful and relaxing. The photos, while taken not that long ago, also show many aspects of Leimert Park that are no longer around or have gone through significant change, reminding us of the rapidly changing landscape of the City of Los Angeles, specifically in the Leimert Park / Crenshaw Area.
Russell C. Hamilton (b. 1992) is a Jamaican-American multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles by way of Atlanta, GA. His creative practice permeates ethnology & sociology throughout the diaspora. Hamilton’s commitment is to examine the multiplicity of marginalized demographics, highlighting the nuance & agency within their communities.
IG: @russham
“Triumph Amid Transitions” – this series highlights the 2017-2018 King Day Parade Festival on Crenshaw Boulevard. With a focus on Black congregation, we explore the communal act of celebration despite the changes of a community in transition.
Roz Kumari is a Caribbean born professional freelance portrait, editorial, lifestyle and documentary photographer living in Los Angeles. Born in Costa Rica and raised in Los Angeles, Long Beach and the east coast. Roz first picked up a camera at 13 and it quickly became her passion. Living in Los Angeles County for over 25 years, she is a mother of 4, wife, full time artist, creative director, singer, yoga instructor and healer.
IG: @kumarivisionz
"'Flowers for the Griots' is a portrait series dear to my
heart that is paying honor, respect, love and extreme
admiration to those that came before me. Those who raised so many of us in the culture, and poured art and spirituality into us growing up in Leimert Park including those featured here: Rene Fisher Mims, Ben Caldwell, Kamau Daoood, Inpo and Nzingha Camara. They are the teachers, spiritual Mothers and fathers to so many in this community. Their stories, music, dance and wisdom need to be celebrated now
and for future generations. Ase!"
Da’Shaunae Marisa specializes in documentary, editorial and commercial photography. Da’Shaunae’s main objective for her work is to make you FEEL. That feeling you get when you look at a photograph and it suddenly all makes sense.
“I want you to feel love, compassion, excitement, joy, wonder, bliss, curiosity. If I can evoke something meaningful from your soul I have fulfilled my purpose.“
IG: @heydashaunae
Each individual highlighted within this body of work
plays a vital role in uplifting the community they serve. Business owners Ade Neff of Ride On!, Umaar Norwood and Sharon Williams-Norwood of Nappily Naturals,
Tre & Cleon of Neighbors Skate Shop & Grand Master Osiris, martial arts instructor provide a service and fill a need with love, knowledge and healing. To love your community is to lend a hand in need, offer safe spaces for rest and creativity and provide a launching point for the next generation. These service providers, waymakers and lighthouses contribute to Umoja.
Umoja (Unity) To strive for and maintain unity in the
family, community, nation, and race.
Jeremy Davis is a mixed media artist from South Central Los Angeles who specializes in photography and videography. He is inspired by the beauty in his community, and captures images that impact his community including, race, class, and social issues. Through photography he tells the everyday stories of South Central residents by highlighting organic and authentic moments that show the full essence of Black life in all its glory.
Jeremy finds joy in what might be thought of as simple and ordinary - A smile across one’s face, or a toddler denied a candy bar at the register of the grocery store followed by a tantrum. His images of Black people serve as counter narratives to negative messaging portrayed in mainstream media.
The installation takes inspiration from the Getty Exhibition, Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop, that chronicles the formative years of the Kamoinge Workshop, a collective of Black photographers established in New York City in 1963. “Kamoinge” comes from the language of the Kikuyu people of Kenya, meaning “a group of people acting together,” and reflects the ideal that animated the collective.
Join us this weekend for Crenshaw Remembers How To Love: Arts and Wellness Family Festival to connect with the artists and their work celebrating the cultural treasures of the Crenshaw District.
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