There is a rare NFT collection of black and white photographs now available on Voice.com entitled What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid?
The collections explore the contemporary black body as property of the state and how American superstructures are routinely given license to seek and destroy all forms of black militia ideology.
The constitution was not written for us therefore how can we expect justice to occur on time. The founding fathers cemented law while 99.9% of us were only valued as livestock, properties of the state, or simply three-fifths of a person.
The images highlighted in the, What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? rare NFT collection, seek to confront the reality that most of society, particularly the youth, are more accepting of guns in virtual reality despite fully grasping the reality of the physical consequences inherent in gun violence.
What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? | Edition No. 1: $5000 USD (1-of-1)
The subject is draped with the American flag as a gesture of Olympian heroism but the reality of a Black gun owner is far different than the glorification conveyed in these images.
Shawn Pridgen and I came together to collaborate on this uber-sensitive topic of gun control and violence because we felt a social responsibility as documentary artists to react to the blood spilling on the streets that had become reduced to live entertainment.
What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? | Edition No. 2: $250 USD (10-of-10)
We simply could not consume the typical news cycle that failed to genuinely address the generational pain that comes with state-sanctioned violence against Black people throughout the course of American history.
With all that said, we drew inspiration from all forms of our life for the What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? rare NFT collection.
Keep in mind, I had no experience even holding a gun before in my entire life. Gaming, television shows, and film have all taught me what it looks (and even to some degree feels) like to yield this weapon while Shawn’s father was once a weapons specialist.
What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? | Edition No. 3: $5000 USD (1-of-1)
So homie had no qualms about attacking the subject matter head-on and with full force.
Yet it all really came together organically when we spotted our gun specialist on-site rocking Black Panther drip so we had to put our money where our mouth and mint these incredible photographs so we can put a call to action for our audience and future supporters.
What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? | Edition No. 4: $3,750 USD (2-of-2)
The charity component became a no-brainer for us as we knew that art and our Black community needed to intertwine together during these groundbreaking moments in American history.
We will pledge 30 percent of proceeds from the What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? NFT collection to the following charities – Youth Over Guns and The Gathering For Justice.
What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? | Edition No. 5: $500 USD (10-of-10)
We have one goal in mind — raising awareness around gun violence, reigniting the black social conscious in the face of state-sanction violence, and securing the bag to protect our future generations with rich cultural wealth.
What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was A Black Kid? | Edition No. 6: $500 USD (66-of-66)
During the weeks under lockdown, Gabriele Lamonaca created his one-of-a-kind pizzas in his apartment, today you can buy or barter for a slice of Unregular Pizza, at his store by Union Square.
Lamonaca has made a name for himself on Instagram for bartering his homemade Roman-style pizza with New Yorkers during the pandemic.
Topped with a whole ball of burrata cheese and other uncommon garnishes, Lamonaca’s out-of-the-ordinary pizzas are more than just good looks.
From the very moment, you take your first bite, the pizza melts into your mouth. The savory sauce paired with the bold burrata cheese taste was satisfying.
Lamonaca decided to bring Roman-style pizza to New York because he believed that this is what the big apple needed. Instead of challenging the already established New York-style pizza, he managed to do his own thing by adding a personal flavor of his childhood and sharing Roman-style pizza.
What sets Roman-style pizza apart from New York Style pizza is two things. The first is the dough, Roman-style pizza at Unregular Pizza is leavened for 72 hours to create a crispy crust. The second characteristic is the creative and insane amount of delicious toppings you wouldn’t find at any other pizzeria in New York.
Bored and in need of a creative outlet, Lamonaca experimented with different ingredients to create pizzas and after several DM’s from his friends, he began making them per order. The more he posted, the more people were asking him to sell them his pizzas, however, money isn’t what he wanted.
“The barter is made so people can share what they want to express or they can share what they’re good at,” said Lamonaca. “So what we want to return is not money. It’s an experience or it is worth something too, you know, something that makes me experience the background of the culture.”
Unregular Pizza is bringing back the barter system
The bartering system dates back decades, before Unregular Pizza’s founding. People from all walks of life across the globe have participated in the bartering system, especially Lamonacas’s Grandmother who would bake bread and exchange that for eggs with the neighbors who owned chickens.
“That was a practice that really held up small communities,” said Lamonaca. “It’s amazing to see that practice like that came back in a different form in a different formate, but it went from a very small village in southern Italy to a very big city, a cosmopolitan city that is New York.”
In the very short time since his first barter, Lamonaca and Unregular pizza have done about 600 barters. Each New York City barter would be unique from the other, but all remained to give Lamonaca an enriching learning experience.
Unregular Pizza and Gabriele Lamonaca have received so many different material objects, however, it’s the experiences that are the most interesting, such as a horseback riding lesson or a night in a penthouse in downtown manhattan.
“It’s like traveling 600 different times,” said Lominica.
“That’s the beauty of New York, that’s why it works so well here because here there’s so much to learn from the community around you.”
They say that the Eternal City wasn’t built in a day, but it can take just a moment in time for a universe to burst into existence. For one ambitious rap visionary in the NFT space, that moment is now.
Rome Fortune is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia. A veteran of the southern hip-hop scene, the Philadelphia-born emcee has returned from his hiatus to sink his teeth into an emerging horizon on the blockchain: crypto music videos.
Ahead of the release of his album debut in the crypto space, Mr. Fortune, Rome spoke on his journey as an artist and what the emergence of web 3.0 means for a music industry systematically wired against success.
Rome Fortune drops Mr. Fortune
With his blockchain debut album, Mr. Fortune released, Rome Fortune is making strides as one of the freshest faces at the intersection between music and crypto.
Since arriving in the space, Rome Fortune’s star has only added to its sheen, complete with exploratory sound and jarring – yet beautiful – visuals.
“I wasn’t even in the space for 60 days,” Rome remarked. Liquor store fiend, the artist’s first blockchain video sold on Oct. 31.
Being a newcomer doesn’t faze him. Hardened from his years in the traditional music industry, Rome Fortune never doubted his worth. After tasting early success with an exclusive first edition of his debut album Mr. Fortune to PHLOTE, Rome has readied 370 editions of his work for the wider world to savor.
He expects the drop to take the space by storm.
It’s by far the best project in NFTs’ short history. I stand by it. Mr. Fortune before 2022: the best album in the NFT space — quote that.
Rome Fortune
Beyond signaling a triumphant return to music, Rome says the album is a gesture of defiance against the music industry and a heartfelt salute to his most ardent supporters.
“It’s pretty much a symbolic pivot into the NFT space… saying, Hey, I’m going to reverse the funnel of giving my stuff out of the DSPS first and give it to people who actually understand or appreciate the art as it is,” Rome said.
Inheriting the throne
Rome Fortune never had to look far to find that appreciation for the arts.
The Philly-born artist comes from a line of jazz royalty including Nat Adderley, Cannonball Adderley, and Richard Adderley — his grandfather — who has played with the likes of Miles Davis.
“I always was exposed to a lot of different types of music coming up. Then when I was in high school, I made a real effort to book my own studio time.”
Over the next several years, Rome Fortune went on to become a fixture of his community’s hip hop scene, featuring alongside fellow Atlanta stalwarts iLoveMakonnen and OG Maco.
Since rising to prominence off the back of his 2013 Beautiful Pimp mixtape, the artist never looked back. Rome has collaborated with the likes of Toro y Moi, Young Thug, Glass Animals, and Gucci Mane.
Despite his success, Rome reiterated the difficulty of making it in the music industry.
Rome worked independently for several years before Atlanta-based promotional team Hood Rich reached out to him. The encounter led to a first-time partner in social media personality Gary Vaynerchuk.
Vaynerchuk, better known as Gary Vee, acted as the artist’s “angel investor” and manager, despite being new to the music scene.
“You know, we were both getting our feet wet in the music industry, so it didn’t reach the potentials that I think it could have just due to none of us knowing what we’re doing,” Rome admitted. “But it gave me a lot of insight into the music industry, in business and things that I don’t think a lot of artists are exposed to.”
“So I kinda at that point, felt as if it was wise or purposeful for me to be intentionally independent because I learned things — how to, survive in an industry that was pretty much designed for me not to.”
– Rome Fortune
Web 3.0 switches the script
Having since overcome the obstacles of the music industry along his journey into the crypto sphere, Rome believes that web 3.0 provides a golden ticket for artists like himself to reclaim their livelihoods from the music industry.
“When I say it was designed against people like me, business-wise, I’m not supposed to win…” he said.
Delayed royalty payments and piracy have long been systemic ailments of the industry. Due to a triopoly of the world’s largest music labels — Sony, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group — some artists have to rely on touring to make up anywhere up to 75% of their income.
Likewise, Digital Service Providers (DSP’s) — think Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube Music — are just as problematic. For example, Spotify generally pays between $.003 and $.005 per stream, which means that about 250 streams are needed to earn just a dollar.
In addition, syncing problems across databases often mean that artists lose up to thousands of dollars of revenue due to metadata errors. “With the DSPs, and Spotify and all that you don’t get data. You’re not even given an identifier,” Rome said.
NFTs, then, are the perfect rebuttal. Each individual transaction is recorded, meaning that they are uniquely suitable for securing intellectual property. Furthermore, the decentralized aspect allows for greater freedom in artist-fan interaction.
“I think it gives a comparable, if not more, worth in value to your connection with your superfans, or your people who will go beyond just the initial search bar, or search query of your name,” Rome said.
“People want to be a part of your journey so I feel like, you can make your fans and supporters just extensions of your team.”
“Take out the middleman.”
– Rome Fortune
“You have a direct line with the people with who your art speaks, which is an incentive when you break it down outside of fame aspirations that artists have. That’s all they want: is just to be appreciated. And [web 3.0] gives you that.”
Welcom to the Rome Fortune universe
Despite seeing a new generation of music artists emerge in the NFT space, Rome spotted an opening to capitalize on.
“You know, I really was an admirer of what they were doing, but I saw that there was kind of a void for people with influence in the music space outside the Metaverse.”
Rome set to work, hopping into Twitter spaces whenever he could and getting to know some of the people working the trade.
“Yeah, it was interesting because I didn’t know how to enter the space. When I was entering the space, music in the past month in NFT spaces boomed,” Rome said.
“Prior to that, everybody was kinda giving me a format or a template to follow because there was no real frame of reference or a context for NFT’s with music.”
In the end, Rome opted to follow his own blueprint and to listen directly to his fans.
“I see a lot of people who offer these roadmaps, and it’s just a really great idea but there’s not a lot put in place behind that to execute it,” he said.
“I didn’t want to put that pressure on myself. I can offer these things. And I know the people who are interested and they’re all Fortune universe — these things will hold value to them. And then you know, we just grow this little mini-world from there.”
For Rome Fortune, that little world is the bread and butter of his intention in the NFT space.
“Especially since my presence in this space is very new, the people who are going to be collecting my NFTs and all of this stuff — these are the people to who the art actually means something,” he said.
“They are going beyond that initial, alright, I’m going to open up the app that’s already in my phone to find this person’s music or I’m going to search or foundation or store or whatever — these people have done so much work just to have access to me.”
Rome says interactions like these go beyond transactions. He feels responsible for being able to repay the faith in his craft.
“They need to essentially get what they’re paying for. Not just financially, but just with the effort. I know, what things make Rome Fortune work as a musician and artist, business person, but these people are here and they want something from me and I’m actually building a universe for them to interact with based on their actual wants and needs for feedback,” he said.
“That’s why I say it’s really cool because you can have a real rapport with your supporters, these people and you can give them exactly what they want.”
Rome laid out plans to create an exclusive platform for his fans as well as a new cryptocurrency in his likeness.
We’re going to pretty much give a payment of Fortune coring to people who collect my pieces, and Fortune coin is going to be a real coin worth, about four bucks per token.
“Right now we’re building the Romey’s Homies universe, and we’re just trying to make sure that we make people have fun. Who doesn’t want free money?”
Rome is dead set on creating value for his fans. “I don’t want to give you a token that’s useless. Shit in life happens,” he said. “If you need to cash out those Rome Fortune coins you can do it.”
“In our world, why not make the best amusement park for the people? I’m at this amusement park, they have this tech, they had this ride that I can get on and I can do all these things.”
“And it just grows from there because you’re providing for people who actually want something for you as opposed to panting pandering to potentials.”
“If you have a skill, and you can handle the bandwidth, you are your marketplace. You are your amusement park for your supporters.”
Despite scoring milestones in quick succession, Rome says that the intrinsic pressure of the NFT space means he doesn’t have time to “revel at the moment.”
The stresses of keeping up with the space keep Rome grounded, he says. Despite making several considerable sales over two months since arriving, the artist remains self-critical.
“Why did we only sell for point five? Why didn’t we get up to this point? Why it didn’t do as well as it could possibly do? It’s a pessimistic way of feeling but it keeps me grounded so I don’t get too aloof and pat myself on the back prematurely,” Rome said.
“I have a lot of work to do.”
– Rome Fortune
The ascendant NFT artist also spoke on the grind of getting over the steep learning curve of the crypto space as well as the value of balance.
“My entry into the space was just overloading myself with information, being in every single Twitter Space that was related to NFTs and music, all that type of stuff,” he said.
Rome has since readjusted his priorities, seeking to apply his trade on his own terms. “Most people feel the need to have those real-time updates of everything. And I’m starting to see I don’t need that,” he said.
“The more information that comes out the better. The more I don’t need to be first on this new development in solidity, or this new development overhead, I don’t need to necessarily be up to date on all of these things.”
“Everybody says presence, presence, presence — I agree, but at the same time you have to be present within yourself…”
– Rome Fortune
“You got to know what you’re bringing to the table. I see a lot of people know a lot about de-fi, a lot about crypto, a lot about NFTs, a lot about smart contracts. But they don’t know much about what they’re bringing to the table at all,” Rome said.
He believes that taking care of himself is the best way to bring the best of his work to the table. “I don’t need to constantly be everywhere just to show that I care about the space.”
At the end of the day, Rome wants other newcomers into the space to remain resilient and to avoid self-doubt.
Keep not caring, keep not overthinking, keep intuitiveness. If you’re in a certain place where you feel confident you feel comfortable in what you’re doing, just do it. Have fun. The year goes by fast.
Legendary innovator Virgil Abloh dropped some free advice that went live after his untimely death.
After incurring several problems with access to the site we decided to preserve all the “Free Game” and information about the Post-Modern Scholarship Fund the black designer left entrepreneurs.
The sudden passing of Virgil Abloh has left social media and the world of fashion in a state of devastation and personal reflection.
Designers, models, artists, musicians, and many influencers have mourned the loss of the inspiring creative genius, bringing together an overview of the positive impact Virgil Abloh has had on the industry.
How Virgil Abloh became the designer every brand wants to collab with
As a black entrepreneur that has partnered with some of the biggest names in entertainment and style, Virgil’s legacy has become a trademark to the tools that help and grow black entrepreneurship.
There is no denying that Virgil Abloh’s success was major and informative. The designer and visionary himself served as a role model and icon for modern-day creatives and entrepreneurs who have perceived his accomplishments and fame as guidance to becoming the most successful and productive beings.
Part of Abloh’s aim was not only to execute the ideas and projects he created but to also teach those who tend to follow in his footsteps. ‘Free Game’ was created to master and conquer plans and put them into action.
Virgil constructed a series of contexts displaying the earliest phases of developing a brand and all the keys needed to develop the skillsets and be open to opportunities. The platform itself was introduced as an accessible support template for black creatives under a tuition support fund called the Post-Modern Scholarship Fund.
Outside of the Free Game program, Virgil Abloh raised $1 million with the support of hundreds of students within the black community to manage an academic promise for fashion-oriented education and development in partnership with the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF).
The mission of the scholarship provides a form of mentorship services and step-by-step topics made as a helping hand guide based on Abloh’s past experiences in learning about the keys of having a business and being a marketer.
Some of these tips are used as a direction to enlighten the start of creating your own imprint on the world. He outlined all the Free Game in 12 steps.
Step 1 – Virgil gives advice on how to name your brand
For me, the brand or entity name has been the most important part of my logic. Your brand name should be an endless reference point to why your brand exists.
Also, editors note; don’t be afraid to stop and start a new brand name out of nowhere. As they also say, if it’s broke, fix it. New ideas come all the time; I often see people too precious with old ideas.
Your brand’s name is the most powerful asset that you can have. How does one come to the final choice for their brand name? Using this video, see the multiple steps that you, as a founder, can do to assess and create a brand name that will stand out.
From creating a brand to producing content for the brand, an essential factor that is often overlooked is to protect your intellectual property. Obtaining a trademark can sound confusing, but with this overview, you can initiate the process to start protecting your brand.
In creating artwork, there are several programs you can use to accomplish this task. Adobe Creative Suite brings all these programs together: Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign, etc.
Step 4 – Virgil dishes advice on how to create a screen Print
Many brands start off with Screen Printed Garments as their foundation to expand on. But to start, you need to understand what goes into screen printing and what machinery, materials, and techniques are needed.
The tools and supply list to make your own screen print is in the video description.
Step 5 – Find the right blank canvas for your design
For screen printing, you will need to spend time sourcing blanks. Using this video, you will come to understand the different characteristics from blank to blank and why you choose the blank that you want to use for your product.
When a lookbook is created, it will need to be distributed publically – To do this, a website is needed. Follow this video to create a website for your brand and your products.
Once your website is created and functional, you will need to link it to a system that will help consumers purchase products.
Shopify will help you do this and also help you organize in the backend shipping and logistics. Use this video to obtain knowledge of how Shopify works and how you can best utilize it for your brand.
Step 9 – More inspo from Virgil Abloh as he provides his must-see overarching lectures
My Figures of Speech catalog is a book filled with all my work from the beginning of my career. Follow the pages in the book to understand the trajectory of my career and my thinking process throughout the years.
More info about the book: The Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech” is a published book based on my personal experiences while developing my design career. To be used as an open-source guide for others to pattern their multi-disciplinary career.
This book features figuratively “10,000” hours of work and the rationale behind my personal art practice. This book was in tandem with the “Figures of Speech” exhibition curated by Michael Darling for the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
The videos illustrate the videos I watched as I was building my Brand. Use these to help the buildout of your brand. My personal mentor: Peter Saville – this video taught me millions of things.
From daily inspo to 10,000 hours of work mapped out in his Figures of Speech book, the “Free Game” program overall highlights Virgil’s most important steps in obtaining stability and efficiency for anyone wanting to pursue an artistic-driven profession.
As a flourished designer and entrepreneur, Virgil’s long-standing initiative was to assist young black creatives such as himself to discover this widespread platform, influencing ideas and brand ownership.
Open to all who are willing to learn and obtain the knowledge of strengthening personal growth, the operation of the Virgil Abloh fund was used as a map in understanding the needs of building business.
The art of expressing skill and imagination as well as inspiring millions of individuals to accomplish their goals across the globe was one of the biggest callings to Virgil Abloh’s career.
The recent passing of the generation’s most innovative and influential figure in fashion history has led the media to shed light on what Abloh stood for and the lead he took in opening doors for the black community to come across a more positive and instructive path in the industry.
We were able to link up and speak with the creators of the money mouth smiley and the launch of their NFT on KnownOrigin.io. Check out the full audio interview below.
Black creatives are now more than ever taking over the power that comes with building your own brand and creating a life from it — Enter the founders of Under the Bottom (UTB) lifestyle clothing brand and originators of the money mouth smiley.
Whether it’s merch, a podcast, music, handbags, Black creatives are taking over the creative market.
Before brands knew the power of social media, the brand Under The Bottom (UTB) Lifestyle was making its mark in the year 2007. Andre Burrows (Dre) and Karim Branscomb (Treem) came together to build the UTB Lifestyle brand.
They both had a mission to make their own mark in the creative industry. They took creative inspiration from folks Pharell and Lupe Fiasco. They had a plan to be more than just a brand and took off as soon as they team up with the likes of Wiz Khalifa in 2009.
A smiley face, with money sign eyes and money sign tongue sticking out is what the UTB duo created as their signature logo that put an emphasis on who they are and their visions of being a long-lasting company.
Throughout the years, UTB was able to reach far to consumers and eventually landed a deal and tour with Wiz Khalifa’s brand Taylor Gang. They built successful a brand that was worn by the likes of the late Mac Miller, Tyga, Snoop Dogg, Diddy, JuicyJ, and more.
Wiz Khalifa rocking the Money Mouth Smiley
Now a fast forward to 2021 and UTB is still here going strong and reaching new heights. This past August UTB announced that it was dropping its first NFT for the Brand’s signature logo.
They created a Twitter thread that explained how UTB started and was led to the NFT space. August 6, UTB released their NFTs for their original smiley design.
founders Dre and Treem incepted the logo and brand in the summer of 07 over sidekicks and tmail. they would plant the roots of a money tree from "under the bottom", and the logo would loudly proclaim their "money vision" pic.twitter.com/t75nCY1muF
NFT are digital assets that anyone can purchase. It’s all a part of the cryptocurrency market and it allows creatives new ways to generate income and long-lasting revenue in whatever music, art, design, etc one creatives on the internet.
UTB lifestyle clothing brand released their NFTs on the site knownorigin.io. You check out more and bid on the original money mouth smiley by clicking here.
To one ascendant artist in the NFT and digital art space, the world is a classroom and healing is on the agenda. Stonez the Organic is that artist in every sense of the word. The Philadelphia native plies his trade as a full-time digital artist, rapper, curator, and founder.
Though his artistry manifests itself in many forms, the driving intention remains constant: to help others improve themselves and heal.
Pictured: Stonez the Organic
His opus magnumSPECTRUM is the culmination of his life experience and creative identity. Last month, Stonez the Organic debuted a three-part study guiding viewers through a process of self-exploration via various mediums of art featured in each phase of the experience.
Ahead of the project’s finale, Stonez sat down to talk about SPECTRUM and how his own story of self-healing borne out of unprecedented circumstances fueled a creative journey where he could make his intention a reality.
“I like to heal through my art. I just like to bring a positive vibe while creating in as many facets as I can.”
$tonez the Organic
Exploring a SPECTRUM of self-love
The SPECTRUM series featured a different concept or medium of art in each of its three studies. Study one explored light and movement. Study two showcased color, while study three was an exhibition of sound.
The first study was an immersive in-person event held at local Philadelphia studio Fidget space on Oct 16. Stonez the Organic enlisted the help of long-time partner Tyspective, a classically trained dancer, to model movement in the interactive experience.
The venue was dimmed to allow a variety of gradient lights to pop out in the darkness. Loosely draped in white cloth, Tyspective performed under ceiling installations of blacklight, with just her gown illuminated as she moved.
The end result was an ethereal light show in which spectators could visualize a progression of movement mimicking the journey of self-acceptance before their eyes.
“The whole point of it was just to focus on the figure to build a connection to the movement through the darkness,” Stonez said.
“In each corner in the building, I had lights radiating to express lighting up the corners of your life and searching through the dark parts of your life and being okay with that.”
SPECTRUM LIGHT + MOVEMENT
The next part of the series was an exploration of color through an NFT drop of 333 handmade orbs designed by Stonez himself.
The collection made waves as soon as it dropped, garnering hundreds of buyers and earning a feature on the homepage of opensea.io.
In a storm of calming gradients and provocatively lapping colors, Stonez the Organic handcrafted each sphere at points where he felt vulnerable and connected with himself, seeking to draw out others’ own propensities for self-awareness.
🌈 SPECTRUM 🌈 -STUDY 2- Color 🎨
333 handmade pieces created with healing intention available for .066 $ETH 👁💡👁
However, the success of the NFT drop proved to be an eye-opening experience. With the project featured on the front page of opensea.io, Stonez acknowledged that the transactional component of the mint was a bigger aspect of the experience than he expected.
“People were just like, buying my art to like flip it, which I didn’t mind. I love it, like people making money off of what I created is a beautiful thing, being able to sustain themselves,” he said.
It added another dimension to what he had hoped to achieve with the study. Regardless, Stonez is glad that he was able to bring positivity to those who received his art in earnest.
“My intention for it was for people to heal and spend time and really observe what they were receiving. A lot of people did love the art. I have people who contacted me just feeling inspired. It was just such an experience for me.”
Pieces from the visual study are still available can be found here.
For Stonez, a study of sound was the perfect epilogue to his vision. The final piece anchoring the SPECTRUM experience dropped on Oct. 29 as a multimedia EP tying together stunning visuals with nine tracks of original music.
“I gave people something to see and digest in a real-life experience. Then, to see, digest, and feel with spectrum part two through color — the sound aspect is the final part, tying it all together. “
If it was that motif of cohesiveness that Stonez wanted to convey to the broader community, he achieved it. The SPECTRUM finale was a collaborative effort, consisting of nine tracks featuring other prominent names in the NFT and music space such as Pat Dimitri, Black Dave, Weinbagz, and FuzzMack.
Each track is also paired with visuals from featured artists to garnish the passages of beauty, art & love communicated in each song.
“It’s just healing, uplifting, pushing forward. Not letting things get to you because it’s so easy to let all of that stuff just beat you down and keep beating you down.”
Stonez swears by this mantra, citing his creative journey as a wide-eyed youngster to weathering the storm of the pandemic and finding his northern star in the mirror.
I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember. I find joy in turning thoughts into reality, connecting people and making things happen. I’ve always appreciated the art of process and admired those who consistently work on their craft. Everything else in life is a bonus.
$tonez the Organic
Stonez has been creating his entire life, owing to a pedigree of creativity spanning generations in his family. His grandfather, a career law enforcement officer, was a lead musician for church and three different bands. Uncles on his maternal side ran a rock hip-hop group throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s.
He recounts being in awe listening to his father’s Walkman. “Growing up, I would listen to their album, and I’m like, whoa, that’s my uncle. Like, that was my uncles doing it — that’s crazy.”
Other albums, such as A Tribe Called Quest’sThe Lower End Theory, kindled a fascination with visual design. “You know, flipping through an album booklet is, like rare now,” Stonez admitted.
“But that that first experience, being able to connect at such a young age, it really inspired me.”
– Stonez the Organic
Music and digital art became the bread and butter of his adolescence. He drew and doodled whenever he could. In seventh grade, he began writing his own music. By the end of his senior year in high school, Stonez added Adobe Photoshop to his repertoire.
Stonez the Organic fondly recounts being able to share out his talents to bring others along his creative journey. Attending Temple University, he and his friends frequented his apartment to hop on the mic and freestyle whenever they didn’t have classes.
“I was always like that friend who was editing our pictures and stuff like that growing up for like MySpace page… I would make our covers when we were making music and do all the branding and create our logos and all that type of stuff,” Stonez said.
But that intention to help others began manifesting itself in other forms, and Stonez didn’t always have the bandwidth to maintain everything at once. “I kind of stepped away from the creative side of like me,” he admitted. “Like, I don’t know, it is weird, like trying to do both.”
The Philadelphia native knew early on that he had a voice to give to just cause. Attending high school at an all-white private school, he ventured into social activism to channel his voice as the president of the black and Latino culture club.
He continued along similar roads after graduating from college, working in several nonprofits, teaching K-12 at GESU school, and working with disengaged high schoolers via the Community College of Philadelphia’s Gateway to College Program.
The time Stonez spent teaching and coordinating community initiatives was some of the most meaningful of his life. “It was a really good experience — it was a beautiful experience.”
The pandemic, however, presented an inflection point that forced the educator into one of the darkest chapters of his life when school administrators pushed to return to in-person learning.
Stonez, teaching a classroom of third-grade boys remotely midway through the year, dissented the decision.
“They were talking about bringing the boys back and I didn’t agree with how it was going down,” Stonez said. “They asked people like, ‘hey, how do you feel about it?’ I just told him I would be more comfortable teaching at home and continue the way we had it.”
What the administration did next blindsided Stonez the Organic and his students.
“They literally email me on Thursday saying, ‘Hey, tomorrow’s your last day. We found a replacement for Monday.’ Bro, I’m at work! This is right after lunch. I get the email after lunch. And then all my students are coming back, logging back on and I got like a frog in my throat.”
Stonez recounts the shockwaves that rippled throughout his classroom community when he mustered the will to tell them the next day. “They didn’t believe me. Mad emails from parents. Mad phone calls, it was just like, disbelief from everyone.”
The ordeal left him drained and devoid of a sense of purpose. “I was in a dark place for like a while because I’ve always been teaching, being able to put myself in a position to just show people how to do better,” Stonez said. “But then like that being taken from me, it made me think because I felt really good doing what I was doing.”
Stonez vowed to never let himself get into a similar predicament.
The next thing that I invest that much time in, or the next thing that I force myself to create, I’m just going to make sure that no one can take it from me.
$tonez the Organic
The harrowing experience did, however, lay the groundwork for a new venture. Andre O’Shea, another successful artist in the NFT space and friend, pointed Stonez toward the crypto-verse.
It was exactly what Stonez needed to regain his footing. “He kind of just like, threw me in the pool, and then just left me to swim. And then I came back a couple of weeks later, like bruh I’m loving it — like this is dope.”
The result was a journey of rediscovery. “I already always had like concepts in my head. But I was just always so busy helping other people and doing all this stuff. And then like losing my job actually, like losing my job during the pandemic like forced me to sit down, you know?”
A leap of faith: Stonez the Organicascends into NFT space
“I’m just so grateful. Like, and people have been telling me like, yo, I’m happy you lost your job, bro. Like, you wouldn’t be here,” he said.
The artist agrees with the sentiment but noted the trials and tribulations of overcoming the spectrum of turmoil that he experienced over the course of the pandemic.
“Having something like being such a high point and being at such a low point so quickly… it really did suck but I can’t let these feelings consume me and change the type of person that I am or how I see the world,” he said.
To Stonez, that mantra is the foundation of all of his work, including SPECTRUM. “It was really about pushing through with that,” he said.
Since then, he has had no shortage of opportunities since arriving in the NFT space, featuring alongside the likes of Gabe Weis under Mark Cuban’s @NFT and Electric Token NFT drop funding the Jamaica Boblsed team’s qualification run for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
And now, Stonez is back to the core tenets of his trade: passing on knowledge as he lifts others up with him.
“It’s just been so much going on like auctions, bids, opportunities. Like I helped Goodie Mob with a drop, I helped Erika Alexander with a drop like these things just happened like week by week is just so fast.”
@goodiemob is bringing culture to the blockchain!“The Dirty South Soul Food Truck” will be here 10/7/21 hosted by @CurioNFT ! 👨🏾🍳
“Things have just been like, rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling. And it’s been amazing, like, I’m so grateful for all of it because I just didn’t expect this, you know? I’m just happy to be here.”
Creation is a discipline of self-empowerment
“I was like, a nobody six months ago, and it’s just crazy to think about how you can have the intention and just be pure and just create and just be present, and just show up and have good ideas and execute and people appreciate you in this space,” Stonez said.
“It’s just beautiful. I’m completely in awe constantly like every day I wake up.”
Stonez the Organic says that being able to grind and hone a creative edge has been indispensable not just as a catalyst for success but a testament to the personal character as well.
“No matter what, keep creating and stay humble. I’ve been witnessing the other side of people gaining success and it’s like they change and start switching up. It’s really hard because I’ve had just a little taste of it.”
Breaks are by no means off-limits. Stonez emphasizes that mental health breaks are part of the process, as a ‘see you later rather than a goodbye.
“You could take a break, but always come back because I think that there’s just something special about it. I don’t know if it’s an escape, or if it’s a fulfillment, or if it’s just the essence of his magic. It’s just all of that, you know, combined, wrapped up in one and I think it’s beautiful to be able to tap into that.”
Stonez the Organic hopes that the next creatives on the come up will find reverence in the process and continue to hone their edge on what he believes to be the distinguishing factor powering the human experience.
“I think that’s our one power: to create, you know? Just create things. Whether it be a tin foil man, a beautiful painting, this conversation… Just keep creating — that’s what I got.”
Al J Thompson is a photographer who is originally from Jamaica. He migrated to the US in 1996. Thompson began his photographic career in 2007.
He was an assistant helping other photographers create their photo projects. From then on Thompson began working in portraiture, lifestyle, and fashion photography. Over time his work morphed into photojournalism and, and documentary photography.
Thompson’s work situates itself in many photographic categories but reminds me of that of Roy Decaravas’s work in the way his work tells a story.
Each image holds its own weight amongst his projects. You’ll find that Thompson’s works are not only captivating and careful but inspiring to view.
He is an intellectual photographer who makes work beyond the common narratives.
Pictured Jamaican Photographer Al J Thompson
A photographic life between art and activism
Jade Rodgers: In what ways do you feel your work resides between art and activism?
Al J Thompson: Art and activism, they both work side, side by side. I’m at the point where I can’t differentiate between photography and art. Actually, I believe photography is a form of art.
Even if you’re a photojournalist, that’s also a form of art. Personally, the day that I took up a camera to photograph my community and things that reflect who I am as a person. I feel as if that in itself is activism. Activism in the way that I try to bring that forthright to the public, and have them understand what I feel at that given moment.
Whatever it is that I do, I do it from a humanitarianism point of view. With that comes art as well. That in itself, there’s a back and forth conversation between the two, actually, and it’s pretty fun.
JR: How did you get into journalism?
AJT: I will say that most of my jobs have been through word of mouth, from one editor to the next. I have a few editor friends and a lot of people found my work through Instagram.
Which is one of the main platforms that I currently utilize. I say currently because I’m on the brink of moving on from Instagram, actually. I’ve always believed in the idea of word of mouth, and because that’s more powerful than any form of advertisement anyway.
JR: Often you find that young photographers struggle with that. Some don’t have that network or sense of networking abilities. The uncertainty of being an artist, so some may be more comfortable with the idea of working for a company long-term.
AJT: It is a struggle for me because most of the time I utilize my stories to tell my story. While that may be entertaining for some, for me, I take it seriously.
“Whatever I think, is whatever I’ll output into the ether.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
Most people have, I say most people, but like, a lot more people actually read my stories and then check out my posts on Instagram. So I have these dialogues in the background.
Every now and then I’ll share certain things to say ‘Hey, listen, this person says this.’ So it is almost like I’m able to push the envelope in a different way. That’s why I brought up stories because I feel like that’s one of the platforms where people get connected. I think a lot of people found a lot of truths, through my stories, and they connected very well.
Al J Thompson talks about the Omar & Abdullah’s photography project
JR: I think yeah, that’s definitely a good way to utilize the space. To get people looking at your work, but then also viewing the deeper aspects of it. Having a dialogue to get people engaged. Also, I was thinking about your work Omar & Abdullah’s.
AJT: Yeah, yeah. It’s so funny how you brought that up. That was pretty fun.
JR: Yeah, I saw that you picked two of the images that I was actually most drawn to. The image of the older gentleman standing in front of this brick wall. It reminded me of something that I’ve seen, in Roy DeCravas’ work, the blacks, and your tonal range is really beautiful. How did that project come about?
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | Omar & Abdullah’s
Creating the work in safe spaces
AJT: Yeah, the funny thing about three years ago, a buddy of mine invited me and several other friends to Atlantic City. He loves gambling and is into poker, me not so much, actually not at all.
Anyway, we went for the weekend, which is what we do on a yearly basis. While there, I decided to walk around the city, and it is pretty dilapidated. It’s not as nice as I had originally thought. So, for me, anything that speaks to me in various ways, emotionally at least I’ll want to get to know more about it and then photograph it.
I was passing by photographing the streets and this gentleman just ran out of this barbershop. He saw me and he called me over and said, “ ‘Oh, your photographer? A professional photographer?’ I said, yeah. He says, ‘Can you come in for a second? Would you mind photographing us?’ Then I went in and in my head, I was thinking, oh, hell yeah.
I went in and there were a lot of different characters there. Dads with their sons and barbers just doing their thing. I said, ‘Listen, what I’m going to do is photograph all you guys. Then I’ll send it to someone for them to share with you guys.’ So that’s what I did.
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | Omar & Abdullah’s
When your creations come full circle
AJT: I waited for the older gentleman to come out. He actually wasn’t a barber at that time. What he did do was shine shoes. I went through an entire roll of 120 film.
I got the contact information and emailed the photos, but they ended up not receiving them. Things got lost in translation, it seems as if they’re not really into emails. I wish they had gotten that at some point. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow because tomorrow morning 15 of us are heading back to Atlantic City.
JR: Oh, wow that’s full circle. I was drawn to it all because images taken in those spaces like a salon, or a barbershop are sacred spaces to me.
AJT: Absolutely, this is a space where you have intimate conversations. You have conversations about football or basketball and other things.
“This is Afro-American culture if you want to see what the community is, you go inside of spaces like a barbershop.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
JR: Absolutely and those were beautiful images. Also, that young boy’s gaze was so intense.
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | Omar & Abdullah’s
Al J Thompson tells us a secret of photography
AJT: I don’t remember the photographer that actually pointed it out several years ago. I was watching some sort ofdocumentary. A mini-series on a particular photographer. He was showing his portfolio and he said, “Once your subject contains this striking, powerful view in the eyes, you don’t need to work for your photo.”
“You just photograph those eyes, that’s all you need.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
That’s one of the secrets about some of these things, because you have these faces, and they’re very interesting with really beautiful characters. The sitters characteristics hold certain elements and it drives home that point of the various endless boundaries of the face.
Faces more often than not can tell a story with the eyes. Even when you’re older as well if you’re 60, 70, or 80 years old, man or woman. You see those landmarks within the faces and the scars as well, those are stories. Those are interesting stories and you don’t need to work too hard to photograph that, because it’s just right there staring at you.
The migration to a new world
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | Nature Place
JR: Yeah, absolutely. I agree. So moving to New York, from Jamaica, did you find that the creative community in Spring Valley? What is that like for you? Because I know it’s important as an artist to have that kind of community.
AJT: Well, when I moved here, I left my dad, my two brothers, and my grandmother, those who I grew up with, I left them in 96. I used to visit here every so often anyway, and then I settled down.
There was nothing creative and I wasn’t even thinking about art. At the time, when I moved to LA, I was just thinking about going to school, graduating, and then I’m going to get a really nice job and have opportunities.
I’m going to send money back home, and then I’m going to eventually move back to Jamaica. That was the plan. This is kind of the plan for most immigrants that moved to the United States.
Then things changed, I started to miss home as well. That was depressing for me and it took a while for me to actually embed myself within the community. I met one or two new friends and I’m trying to figure out my way around, but I couldn’t.
Eventually, just growing up through high school I started rapping with my Jamaican accent, and then friends told me ‘Oh you should add some reggae to this or whatever.’ It was still fun…
“I made this place my own.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
Although, it was still a struggle because I had left so much behind. A lot of history and the island, but in high school, I still did some art but nothing crazy.
Mostly I was thinking about anything other than being an architect. That’s what I wanted originally, to major in architecture. Then I took some subjects in college and I’m good at math, but physics kicked my ass.
Then I just decided to settle with graphic design. I got a degree and started working in the city for a while. Then that’s how I got introduced to photography because graphic design is almost like its stepbrother. My first camera, I got it when it had just come out, the original Canon digital rebel XT. Yeah, so I was like, God, this is an eight-megapixel camera. Oh my god, this is so cool.
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | NYC GO
Learning the ropes
JR: That’s wild, I came in around the rebel t3.
AJT: You’re much younger. But yeah. I took a darkroom course and I wanted to take more courses but ended up not doing that. That was the only thing and some art history courses. We talked about Richard Avedon and a few other photographers out there. The moment I got my rebel I was just going nuts. I was everywhere shooting trees and leaves. I didn’t know what the hell.
JR: While you were in school, taking some of those classes. Did you feel like you were learning about photographers that looked like you? Did you see yourself in those classes at all, learning about photo history?
AJT:It was a prerequisite for my graphic design degree. I didn’t really think of it. I mean, every now and then I thought to myself, ‘Oh this is fun. I’m in a dark room. This is really fun, you know.’ Looking back at some of my work is a horrible experience. I look at an image and it’s so blurry. When I thought it was sharp.
Remnants of an Exodus… The show
JR: Well, I’m really excited to hear how your opening for your show went?
Photo Courtesy: Remnants of an Exodus Exhibition
AJT: I had one in Portland, Oregon and I wanted to go but I was unable to attend. It was very unfortunate. I did have an artist’s talk that was pretty emotional for me because I wrote a lot. It included my upbringing, the shift in demographics, and where I was located.
It brought back a lot of nostalgic feelings as well. This is equally traumatic because with nostalgia comes trauma as well. Not only that but the beautiful moments that you remember just come with the territory. That was kind of like the highlight of the exhibit.
After that, I had them ship my pieces directly to another gallery that had contacted me while my show was still happening in Portland. My latest exhibit was displayed in an intimate setting. There was also another artist, a traditional artist who does abstract work.
My section was to the right and the director asked if I wanted to do an artist talk. I don’t find myself to be very good at those. I couldn’t say no, so I took her up on it.
JR: Do you get nervous when you have to talk in front of people? Is that what the feeling is?
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | Remnants of an Exodus
AJT: Yeah, there’s some nerves. I’m an artist, I want to talk, but my skill set lies within connecting myself with another human being. This might just be my skill set. My skill set is also through photography or writing. I consider myself a street writer, and It’s not like an official term. I grew up around hip hop, reggae, and other music genres.
In terms of freestyling, I leaned back in the day, on the streets, and just wrote lyrics that carried over into my work. You could also view my book. Which is like a musical in that way. I call it a hip-hop musical in the form of photography.
How this happened, I have no clue. It just naturally happened and naturally morphed into such an amazing book. It has a little bit of everything, aspects of dystopia, hope, and so many different storylines.
If you’re someone from the African diaspora, Latino diaspora, or anything like that, you could connect to it. It’s a book that I feel can connect with almost anyone out there because it’s about love and hope. There are so many different storylines within that book. I can’t even keep up…
JR: Could someone still go to purchase your book? Is it still available?
Remnants of an Exodus… The Book
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | Remnants of an Exodus
AJT:There are a few copies left on my publisher’s website which is Gnomic. I have my own copy as well. I think I had like one box left. The original storyline speaks to gentrification and that became more of a focus. Although you look at other storylines about people in the African diaspora and everything is so dark and negative.
That particular community has been depicted in that way for a very long time. Now you have artists like myself, and other artists who are now taking up the mantle and retelling our own stories.
Whether it’s in a more positive light, or mixing it up to say:
“We have strengths as well, we have weaknesses, obviously, but why not play up with the strength?”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
That is why last year, through the middle of the pandemic, I stopped photographing, and I paused to pick up another project. I really wanted to finish this project, I thought that this project needed to be seen as soon as possible. I felt that it would help people and that’s what it did. I’ve gotten emails, and messages from a lot of people saying it’s a book that they will cherish forever because it’s such a personal book. They feel like they know me through that book.
“Remnants of an Exodus is also a reflection of myself.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | Remnants of an Exodus
I’m not only telling a story about gentrification, I’m telling a story about myself as well and the kind of person I am. There’s someone there in front of the camera and then I’m here. It’s almost as if there’s this connection or bond.
The lines are blurred between the sitter and the photographer. You can’t really explain it other than there’s this connection, how you shoot. I don’t take a lot of photos of one subject. Sometimes I have one chance and I’ll shoot it. I’ll just do one frame. Oftentimes, on average about maybe three frames
From one photographer to another on the process
JR: Yeah, that’s interesting. Is it just a time constraint? Or a feeling at that moment?
AJT: I think it’s a little bit of everything. Oh, also budget. I invested a whole lot in this project. It’s been on a lot of platforms, thankfully. I’m very grateful for that as well, and I’m happy with the way it came out. Regardless of whether I photograph two frames, or three frames, or seven frames.
JR: So when you’re starting a project, what is your creative process? Do you focus on a concept first, or do you just make work, and then the concept comes later?
AJT: I’m a very deep thinker, and I don’t say that in a way to make me look good. I feel I’m always thinking and that I think too much at times. There are some things that I plan for, obviously, but there are other elements that pop up.
For example, when I think this is an opportunity and I want to photograph it. In my book, Remnants of Exodus, those images were pre-planned in terms of me knowing that I wanted to walk the streets of Spring Valley. I don’t plan on a person posing a particular way the day before. Whenever I see that person or that thing or those animals, I make the images.
JR: You would much rather connect with people on a personal level. I love that. The book is a beautiful collection of powerful images. From what I’ve seen and I would like to see the book in person.
AJT: There are some surprises in the book. My buddy Shane Rocheleau, he wrote a beautiful piece in the back and I also wrote a short poem. I would like to give a shoutout to Jason Koxvold, who’s a brilliant creative director, designer, and publisher.
He’s also a photographer too, he does it all. We all put our brains together. I felt like my book was always about love and the idea of me inviting people who are not even of African descent. It was definitely calculated and what better way to prove that you want these stories to be out. My goal was to reach as many people as possible.
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson
Sticking to your beliefs as a creative
AJT: Actually, I’m a firm believer in walking the walk. I think that this is why I did it the way I did. When I was deciding who to invite to write for the book I had two people in mind. I selected Shane because I respect his work a lot and he’s one of my favorite photographers. If you ever go through the book, it feels like meditation in a sea of violent imagery.
“It’s very important to distinguish myself from other photographers. In the sense that I focus more on love and, this work can resonate with even the most violent of people.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
The work doesn’t have to garner the attention of millions. That doesn’t matter to me because I believe in it and I stay true to who I am as a photographer and a person.
JR: I think especially as black photographers, we find ourselves leaning into recreating the trauma. I noticed that a lot especially in 2020. Although thinking about your image where you have the man holding the Black Lives Matter sign.
We know what the image is referring to and talking about. We didn’t have to see the violence to understand it.
Kingmil Miceus, 23, demonstrating against police brutality, in Nyack, NY. The death of George Floyd has sparked a nationwide debate on policing minority men and women in the US. June 2020.
b: Absolutely, with that photograph as well, that was me looking at myself at that moment. It wasn’t even a plan. After the protest, I had two shots in mind and wanted to cover them in a non-traditional photojournalism way.
I didn’t see any violence during the protests. Though last year, a lot of images, were being branded in a more violent way. Which is very traumatic. We already know what happened before.
“Why does the news or media have to always latch on to violent imagery, especially within the black community? Why do you want to continue feeding us trauma?”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
After I tried photographing these guys you could see fear, hope, and strength. I’m a very nuanced person. So I felt like my images had to represent who I am.
When I posted it on Instagram, I didn’t post the traditional stuff first. Two days afterward, I posted this image and I photographed some women as well. I realized I made my point and then a lot of different magazines started contacting me.
Asking a few different things, like is the work published anywhere else, apart from Instagram. Then a friend of mine, from The New Yorker, got in touch with me and asked, ‘Can you do me a favor and not publish this? Because we, we want exclusive rights.’
AJT: I told her, this other publication wants it. I waited to find out what they wanted to do. She got back and told me that I could do it non-exclusively. They still ran it and they also hired me to photograph the protests.
I went to three days worth of protests, and there was zero violence. I was one of maybe only a few photographers that decided to do it differently this time. To not go with what the system has taught us to do. It felt really good to have my work out there and photograph what I believed in without the endless propaganda.
JR: That’s beautiful. I know during that period, aside from photographers focused on violence and negativity, there was also conversation around showing protesters and organizers. Individuals who put protests together and how that imagery could potentially harm them. If those images get published or posted and their identity wasn’t protected. Did you ever think about those types of things while you were making that work?
AJT:I saw someone that my energy took a liking to. Then I approached them and they would oblige. Sometimes I’d have just a couple minutes, sometimes it’d be several and people loved it. Remember this was in the middle of a pandemic too. It’s interesting how that whole event happened, because something happened, the fear got put aside.
Photo Courtesy: Al J Thompson | Remnants of an Exodus
Al J. Thompson reflects on 2020
AJT: Then for the betterment of humanity, people were like, fuck it, I’m gonna go out and protest.
“I’m going to do what I believe in and stand up for what’s right.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
What happened to that beautiful person, and other men and women of color should not be happening. At the time, this is 2020. It shouldn’t be happening. How many adults and kids saw that, murder in front of so many people?
JR: Yeah that was an incredibly hard year.
AJT: I’ll tell you a lot of the work that I garnered between last year and this year. I definitely directly benefited from George Floyd’s death. That’s the irony of it and also COVID which coincided with that as well. If people hadn’t been locked up in one space, then maybe some of that wouldn’t have ensued.
I felt that I needed to burst out and show my flame at that moment. Being out there with these energetic beings, that’s how I looked at it. I knew from day one that I’d have to face my fear for me to move on.
“So I faced my fear.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
JR: In terms of making work and getting these stories out there. I think with your project I was reading about your hometown. I’m curious about what was going on there. What was the focus surrounding that work?
Reimagining love…The realities of gentrification and redlining
AJT:If you look at the before and after, it’s straight-up black and white. No doubt, the amount of change that happened over the years is pretty dramatic, actually.
A lot of what I witnessed in Spring Valley, was a lot of people moving on. People who owned homes sold their homes to businesses mainly religious, Jewish folks. Everything’s changed and zoning laws have changed over the years as well. They wanted to build higher and have more homes, and less space. A lot of condos were built and part of the park got sold illegally to business developers by the mayor, Darden.
Darden was someone I had a run-in with when I was in high school. They sent me to the dean’s office, Darden was dean at the time. He let me off because I was never a troublemaker.
While he was running for mayor, I was actually rooting for him. I didn’t know what he was like or what was in store at the time. While that happened the moment actually he took office, he made a lot of changes. The original blueprints for the redevelopment of storefronts got changed.
Spring Valley became even more segregated. They sold a plot of land that belonged to housing development. Also, that got sold to business developers as well to build condos. They didn’t allow any person of other descent to rent their properties. It’s redlining that’s what is happening right now.
JR: Were you documenting this change as it was happening?
Al J Thompson talks pivoting
AJT: I started documenting this in 2018. I documented it in a more traditional photojournalistic way. I would go to town halls or just go and various events, photographing families. That that was the original idea.
Originally, I was doing it in color, Matt Eich, who is still one of my favorite photographers. And so I wanted to take a page out of his book, I wanted to actually photograph the different demographics in Rockland County, which Spring Valley is located in.
I started doing that shifting the work to try and figure out how to present a story. I just kept on photographing and then I hit a dead end. Switching it up and I started to photograph in Black and white. The changes happened before that and I don’t remember when he came into office. Though I do know they happened as soon as he came.
There was a park that I used to play soccer and basketball at. That park and everything changed. It took them months to redevelop and we couldn’t even turn on the floodlights at night anymore to play ball. The whole experience was disgusting.
I felt a lot of anger and then through the combination of this book, the images at least, I found love, hope, and other things outside of just anger, right? That morphed into something different when I actually took the time to sit down and photograph. As well as talking to people getting to know them.
Adapting to change
JR: These are people that are experiencing the same changes, like you. Did you find that comforting, in a way? The removal of historical places that are predominantly black, or predominantly Latino, or anything of that nature. I find that sometimes the only thing that makes us feel positive energy is when negative things around us are happening.
It seems that talking to each other about it with those people often helps. When you were photographing these individuals were the conversations along those lines of finding comfort in one another?
AJT: I usually initiate those conversations, because I feel some connection with that person, too. Sometimes it is nice to have these conversations. A lot of the guys they’re lost as well, you know? I feel a lot of sadness, and that they’re in a place of loss.
“By injecting myself within that space, I was hoping that I’m in a sense injecting them with some form of hope.”
– Al J Thompson, Photojournalist
I’ve lived to tell those stories, and I enjoy just watching them smile, and saying I love your book. Now, because I know I’ve reached them in a way. A lot of the guys signed my books and I just thought to myself, this is for you.
It’s all about giving back for Al J Thompson
JR: What is something that you would like to do for your community?
AJT:My book isn’t enough, you know. I wish there was a way for me to give back more. I’m always wanting to do that. I’m in the process of moving for good.
Though before I move my last wish here is to have a frickin party and invite a lot of people over. Something outdoors obviously maybe in the summer. Possibly getting the local police department involved as well. The budget needs to be there and I don’t have the budget.
JR: Maybe something for younger kids to get involved in art.
AJT: Maybe you know, it’s endless, you know, you can do a lot of different things. I would need to find out, like, budget-wise, like what can I do? How much can I afford to spend on this and now you know, and then also, like, there would be other organizations that could lend themselves to making this a success.
JR: What do you think you are going to work on next?
AJT: I have my kids and I love them. I’m taking a long break from photographing them, but I’ve been photographing my kids for years. I still don’t know, the storyline there. There are many different storylines that I can craft for sure. Being black in the suburbs has interesting moments. It’s very catchy as well, but it might be completed and I’ve been at that for a while.
I’m not planning on releasing anything of my kids for the next seven years. Then I’m photographing other projects in between other long-term projects. Also photographing nature because I love that type of work more than anything. I gravitate more towards nature and that’s when I feel at home. When I’m in the middle of the woods. Those are projects I’m thinking about.
JR: I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to talk with me. I really love your work and your thinking behind it.
AJT: Yeah absolutely, it’s decades of planning, and also for me, I grew up differently. I think on an esoteric level.
I just feel like the world is such a complicated place. It’s equally ugly and beautiful.
An avid supporter of the Miami Heat, Miami legend, and rapper Rick Ross was a featured guest on a recent episode of Uninterrupted’s Certified Buckets podcast when he brought up an old topic of conversation.
In 2014, Diddy and Rick Ross attempted to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers when it went up for sale after the Donald Sterling controversy. They ended up getting outbid by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer who was able to seal the deal with a $2 billion offer
Seven years later, however, and Rick Ross has more aspiration to be a sports franchise owner than ever. On the podcast episode he says:
“I’m still interested in getting a small percentage of an NFL or NBA team…my money is in a different place now. I’d just invest in the Heat because we got some beautiful additions. And like I say I’m one of those people that can look three seasons ahead…I’m confident. We’ll bring them big trophies back.”
Being born and raised in Dade County, Rick Ross has been a lifelong Miami Heat fan since day one. He went from watching games from the nosebleed section to becoming a rap superstar and creating a connection with many of the players, Pat Riley, and the entire Heat organization.
This would come as no surprise as Rick Ross is known for his entrepreneurial endeavors outside of his music career, including franchising Wingstop stores.
How Rick Ross created a cash empire by franchising Wingstop
He has the connections, the capital, and the people of his city behind him.
These aspirations are not only an interesting element to Rick Ross but significant to another dynamic. There are only six people of color with ownership in all three major US sports (MLB, NBA, NFL.)
The crypto industry may want to prepare itself for more active intervention coming from the Security and Exchange Commission. In recent years the SEC came after DJ Khaled, Floyd Mayweather, and Steven Segal, but lower-profile individuals involved with crypto trading may want to be more cautious.
Gary Gensler and the SEC have been fighting the war on crypto for some time now, most notably the lawsuit last year with Ripple Inc which debated whether crypto was currency or security.
Most recently the SEC has even threatened lawsuits against one of the most popular crypto trading companies, Coinbase, which ended their “Lend” program.
Why should this matter to everyday crypto traders?
Cryptocurrency has a promising future in the economy, allowing everyday people to take more control over their finances.
Since China’s crypto ban, the price for Bitcoin, Etheruem, and a few other currencies are making it easier for anyone to become wealthy, but also for anyone to be scammed.
Labor shortage and The Great Resignation
Recent studies by Civic Science shows how economic freedom from cryptocurrency led to more people leaving their job, contributing to the “Great Resignation.”
This data shows how those with the lowest income, quit their full-time job to invest in crypto are the ones quitting their jobs.
With more people quitting their jobs and turning to crypto, it won’t be a surprise why the SEC may crackdown on traders to better incentivize them into returning to work.
Flaunting your crypto wealth can get you in trouble with the SEC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHtwNbQc-f4
Both DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather have been charged by the SEC for promoting cryptocurrencies sold in their initial coin offering (ICO) without revealing that they’ve been paid.
What sets crypto trading apart from stocks is that they work in the gray area between securities and currency. It’s easier for crypto traders to make lots and disclose anything to anyone. It’s important for lower-profile crypto traders to remember that with great gains comes great responsibility.
Joana Toro is a documentary photographer whose work shows the ways in which communities neglected in the larger discourse of photography find their way into the canon.
Historically photography has played a role in undermining the stories and histories of Black and Indigenous People of color (BIPOC). Toro’s photographic practice recognizes the ways in which representation is important.
While considering the ethics of photography we take a look into projects Toro created like, Hello I am Kitty, Nasa: Ancient Warriors, and TransLATINAS Collaborative Portraits.
Toro is currently based in New York but is a Colombian native. Much of the work explores the intersecting identities of individuals across borders. As well as centering the experiences of immigrants in America, and LGBTQ individuals.
Joana Toro documentary photographer
Jade Rodgers: How did you get started in photography?
Joana Toro: As a self-taught photographer from Colombia, I work with issues surrounding immigration, identity, and social justice. In 2000 I had some semesters or studies in graphic design, but I didn’t finish my career in college.
Through graphic design, I saw something in photography, and that became my first approach to the camera. Then for other reasons as well I didn’t finish my career.
I had to continue doing other things to make a living, but photography was always with me. That’s why I began to work in newspapers and magazines in Columbia for about 10 years and then made my way to the US.
It’s not the same state of mind when you’re in your 20s or 30s. Even when you’re in your 40s, my photography also represents that experience. It was integral to change many things in my approach to social issues.
While I was in Colombia my approach was in social issues, but here in the US working as a photographer my curiosity was in a different state. My needs changed so I began freelancing, but I work more in long-term jobs now.
Joana Toro on breaking the stereotypes to open doors for opportunities
JR: Did you find that to be a challenging transition, and how difficult was is it to find work?
JT: Yes, I think the most challenging aspect is breaking the stereotypes that sometimes Latino immigrants have in reality. Sometimes we have a beautiful way to express ourselves. No matter what kind of immigrant you are, you have to break some stereotypes and I think, for me, it was challenging to break some of those in order to have opportunities.
“Everyone also wants to be a photographer nowadays which also makes it complicated. Self-taught photographer, immigrant or not, our societies like to divide.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
I question where these stereotypes are coming from? Being a person of color, of course, has challenges in this society, no matter if you are a photographer, or architect, or whatever the case may be.
Colombia is always on top of mind
JR: Absolutely, it is at its core systemic. It can be really difficult sometimes, and regardless of occupation,you will go through the same challenges as a person just trying to get their foot in the door.
You’ll make work that you believe is important or valid. Though I was particularly struck by the way that you are telling these stories of underrepresented people.
It’s done in such a way that it doesn’t feel clinical. Which is important and you’re coming from a place of understanding. When I looked at your work “Colombia on my Mind”, which I would love to hear you talk about, the way you describe that body of work.
Being that this is your home and a reflection of that. Also, how you let the viewer make their own choices about what to feel when they look at the work.
Colombia on My Mind by Joana Toro
JT: Yes, Colombia is on my mind. I can say that of my own work in Colombia when I was on staff as a newspaper and magazine photographer, I had to go to many places.
Meet a lot of people and see different perspectives not only in the city. Also in the countryside and so on. That opportunity gave me a better understanding of my country.
I decided to make a series of pictures that never went out in the media, for many reasons. I wanted to describe my country and how I feel in my heart. The situation in every picture is different. Although in some way they are together, not the composition, but the color, and the feeling of each picture.
I decided that I would give the viewer the discretion of interpretation because as a photographer, my main interest is what people feel when they see my work.
Joana Toro relies on universal feelings as a form a communication through photography
JT: When people see my pictures I am not the person to tell them what to feel. Every person is of an independent mind, and I just felt that. Sometimes Columbia is in a state of waiting, or understanding and we are always waiting for the best, but in the meanwhile, this is a situation of wonder.
“The wonder is surrounded by beauty, horror, and poetry. Every person feels something different when they approach an image and I think the only thing that I can share with the viewer is what Columbia is for me.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
Also, sometimes when you feel an emotion that can be felt anywhere regardless of place. For example, I say sadness, and sadness is a universal feeling.
The work image to image is not related by time, some pictures are in 2012, 2010, 2009, 2000, and some are digital others are film. In this way, I see these images as a series of feelings, and about being Colombian. Sometimes your feelings are personal.
So I decided that the viewer will have control over interpretation, or what they feel. Sometimes you understand it, sometimes you feel it, or sometimes you don’t see anything that’s completely valid.
Colombia on My Mind by Joana Toro
JR: Absolutely, and for me, the work struck me in the little moments between images. For example, the two children playing with the egg. Something that I never did personally but you just feel that moment.
You know it’s probably filled with joy, and then you’re transitioning to images, like the individual on the street. Who is strutting confidently through this crowd of people with this amazing outfit on? I think you did a really incredible job of playing with time and emotions as we move through the work.
Colombia on My Mind by Joana Toro
JT: Even if you’ve never gone to Colombia, you do even need to know where it is on the map, or whatever. You can feel something from the image and that’s what’s important to me.
“The only reason I create photographs is to make the viewer feel something. At least something negative or positive. Nowadays, we are surrounded by so many spectacular images.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
Creating photographs that reveal and captivate
JR: For sure, and thinking about the history of photography and the violence that has been inflicted on people of color. I would love to hear your thoughts about creating these works about indigenous people and underrepresented people. How do you go about showing that work, or if you’ve ever shown that work, in institutions that historically keep us out of the conversation?
JT: One of the main reasons I began to freelance is this necessity that I feel I have to dig deeper into the issues that I see in daily life. For example, indigenous struggles, fighting for their land, I go, take photographs and come back the next day there is another situation.
An issue is documented but the news is no longer news once it is documented. I find it very important to me to make work about these groups of people. Also, this is why I decided to finish my career as a staff photographer.
Also, I like to create works that have something to say, in some form or another, from my perspective. I want to try to add to the conversation of the news which is always happening so fast.
Stories that maybe there is no news coverage at all because everyone knows that these communities exist. At least that these people are struggling, but I like to imagine that my work can create new conversations about these communities and their problems that we don’t see every day in the news.
This is something that I want to believe is my purpose, to add to the conversation. Some of this for me is very obvious, and I think for many people, but maybe for the media, it is not so obvious. As part of our crisis as societies, I find that photographing underrepresented communities is very important. It’s very much a necessity for me to go there.
Joana Toro believes indigenous communities have a voice
JT: Also, it’s not because they don’t have a strong voice to talk about their problems, no, that isn’t the problem. These people are very strong and can speak for themselves. I feel a kind of attraction to these communities and their actions. It is also motivation for me.
I admire the community, its goals, and it’s something I want to know more about. I am so interested in understanding that strong mentality. Also, sometimes you see a headline that something is happening with immigration or the LGBT communities or Latino immigrants or whatever.
The media’s approach is to feed more stereotypes and make assumptions. I always approach these topics with an open mind and see how amazing these people are and understand why. So that’s why I love to create this type of work. It is an opportunity to make new conversations about these communities.
Nasa: Ancient Warriors by Joana Toro
JR: How does the work get translated? Once you finish a body of work, say like NASA Ancient Warriors.
JT: The NASA indigenous group is incredibly strong. Columbia is so big and they have been challenging to preserve their land. They are in a part of my country where we have a lot of mountains.
The land is very important for communication, and also a lot of fields of coca, and other stuff, right. So they have been fighting in that territory since practically the beginning of Colombia’s formation. I’m talking centuries ago, this is not something new.
That’s why I say that they are ancient warriors because they were in that challenging position for so long. As far as photographing them they are very open to outside people, like me, I approached them and documented their fight and the survival of their traditions. I was just lucky, and I also had a good relationship with them.
“It’s work that takes time because you have to build the confidence to go there.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
Nasa: Ancient Warriors by Joana Toro
As well as getting permission, their community expands, and we can see how they have to deal with things like the narcotics war. Things that have been my country for 60 decades or more.
The narcotics war is fairly new, but always this community has been facing the challenge to preserve their traditions, and they have been successfully doing it no matter what. I am sure that so many people have been talking about them, not only in photography, also in writings, and they always come to the same conclusion.
A thank you note to the NASA community
JT: The NASA people are so strong and they don’t need help, they just need the government to take seriously their demands of protecting their lands. The interest of that land is superior to the government. Nowadays, we have Mexican cartels in play and it further complicates the situation.
As for them is just to label change of the always they are in a very important part of the land. They are in a strategic place on that land, and they are strong enough to not just disappear without a fight. I decided to make these images as a kind of thank you note.
This hard spirit that these people have, is not only the NASA people, I think a lot of indigenous people around the world have this fire inside now. Therefore, you have to be respectful. These people have said, our land is not for taking, and we have to protect our people. Preserving the land to give to the new generation, is not a new innovation, they have been doing it for centuries.
JR: That’s really beautiful. It does, listening to you talk about it, feel like you’re paying homage to the people. I found that really interesting because when I first viewed the work, I personally did not know this history.
So for me, when I look at other bodies of work that you’ve created, not only am I learning and expanding my own visual culture, I’m learning about a specific group of people’s culture. In relation to the ways,photography is taught in an academic setting we don’tget imagery like this often.
So when I look at your work, I’m seeing the way you use photography and feel connected to this mode of working. You’ve blended creativity and activism into your work effortlessly. I’m really thankful that you shared that with me.
Hello, I am Kitty is a photographic reflection of identity and immigration in the United States
JR: I was also drawn to Hello Kitty, as a critique of immigration in the US and the way you describe it as a journal to find your new identity. I’m curious about that work too if you could talk about it.
JT: Yes, Hello I am Kitty is the first project I created in the US. Regarding my personal experience as a Latina immigrant, I came here as an international student of English, I had to learn the language.
When I came to America, I came with no family and needed fresh air and that was my expectation of course. Although reality gave me what I like to say the punch or feeling of being punched. When I began to work in Times Square I tried to work in other spaces without success. My English was not the best in 2011 and 2012. Since I preferred to work independently I found that working as Hello Kitty might be very easy, but then I realized that it was very difficult.
For many years I had seen myself in a number of ways, but I began to understand this country in a peculiar way. The people who work in Times Square are mostly immigrants from Latin America and Africa. While working in the street, you are in a situation where you’re figuring out new modes of survival.
“When you go to any country around the world, you have to begin from zero in some way, because you are new to that place you don’t know the codes, the language.”
Globally we are poor-phobic… Immigrants are not the issue
JT: In many cases, you are not a rich person. So you have to face how to make a living along the way. It’s kind of exciting, but also difficult and challenging and gives you a lot of happiness and sadness. Working on the Square gave me that and deeply. Mostly the story of that work found me and I was not prepared for them. But it took me time to understand that I was there not only to work but also to share with my camera what was going on there.
“Soon I began to see that as an immigrant you have complex identities.”
Hello, I am Kitty is a reflection, because I think my old identity and the new one, made my perception of myself this new bigger one. I realized when you travel, you are the same person, but you have more experiences, and you are more diverse and more open. When I began to find myself in this job, I found it super difficult because the symbolism of the mask gives you a new identity anyway. Right?
If it’s Halloween and you put a mask on, you are that character. Though you are still you underneath. I began to see that not only in the pictures that I take but also in the meaning of immigration in the US. How we do not see immigrants as who they are, and how they look at themselves in society. I was invisible, and I began to realize, okay, what is this across the reality of undocumented peoples?
Representation MATTERS for Joana Toro
JT:What if I begin to play with that symbolism? After years, I began to see that I was talking about something very deep about immigration in the US and how the Latina and Latino are seen.
How we begin to use words that are not related to the real complexities of the situation. How can I explain this? Taking the time to understand, and this is my interpretation.
Maybe it’s not the best one but personally, sometimes society uses words to describe situations of the world. Immigrants or immigration is a word that is criminalized to say. I think the problem is not the immigrants, the problem is that they are poor. So we as a society are allergic to the poor.
“There is a problem around poor-phobia, not immigration.”
So when we say that someone is illegal…A human being is not illegal. So the daily use of something makes it normal. But if you analyze the root of that it is much more complicated. It’s easy to say the problem is the immigrants, because when you close your eyes to see a person walking with a kid, and you see a Mexican or Latino, or people from Africa or wherever.
They come here to make homes no matter what part of the world we are talking about. Since we are in the US, we’re talking about this country but that is not to say that the US is eviler than the rest of the world. No, I mean to say that it is a global problem. I think the problem is not the immigrants, it is that they are poor.
The economical factors…
JR: The importance that we put on class is in my opinion a major factor. Which often stops people from recognizing or understanding what you’re saying.
JT: Immigration is a very complicated issue because it covers many sides. There are monetary, economical, and patriotic factors at play. Immigration has many layers to it. My understanding is that many countries often don’t know what to do. There is so much complicated stuff happening.
“The idea of this work is to create questions more than answers.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
Also, we don’t have the answers. I think as a society, we are struggling to find a better way to do what is best for everyone. It’s important that these kinds of pictures or voices, and there are many voices around the world talking about immigration. It’s important that they have a space, so people begin to see it from a new perspective.
It allows people the opportunity to say, you know what, maybe next time I say this, or I’ll listen, avoid this, or just simply have respect for others. More importantly, we need to question and reflect on where we are as individuals.
Reflection is always a good way to understand the problem. Nowadays, it’s complicated because we have so many factors, but I think people are talking little by little about issues that we don’t want to. This work is just a contribution to make another question about immigration, globalization, and all that.
JR: What other aspects of photography are you most focused on presently?
JT: Nowadays in my practice, I have been working with Latino immigration not only with Hello I am Kitty but also with LGBTQ Latino communities in Queens and around Europe because it’s what I live. It’s easy in some ways but very difficult in others and these stories take time. I am doing this because it’s part of my life and what I am facing sometimes.
“For many people of color, immigrants, and Latinos, what they have to face in this society is nasty stuff. It can be beautiful as well.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
It is what it is, we are in our society that is in a divide. Sometimes in your daily life, you can feel it. The best way to manage that is to go out with your camera and feel it and make it part of your work. Also, I like to work within the realms of the African diaspora, in Colombia, I focus my efforts on Colombia. My work while in the United States is centered around Latino immigration.
Joana Toro speaks about her TransLATINAS Collaborative Portraits
JR: What ways are the Trans Latina portraits you’ve created a collaboration? How was the process of creating that body of work?
TransLATINAS Collaborative Portraits by Joana Toro
“It’s a collaborative project because the ladies who are in the photographs decide how they want to be represented in the picture.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
JT:Some women decided that they would like to be naked or generally to be in different situations. They decide what picture they want to be shown and we have a conversation about it. I am just a bridge between them and the picture that they want to have. The idea of this is just to show the community, these beautiful sisters exist in and are a part of.
Nayra Lee Berrios transgender woman from Puerto Rico lives her fantasy of becoming a mermaid on the beaches of Conny Island in Brooklyn on July 19, 2021
I love that feeling and intimacy and I want to know more. We are women and this world struggling with the complicated aspects of patriarchy. I think about what happens when someone is born into a different body. There is a lot of work that a person has to do to feel like themselves in their own skin. I think about how, for myself, it was so easy.
I was just born and that was it. In the trans community, they have an extra challenge, and how they feel femininity is very deep. The main idea of the project is to make them feel as they are. In this way, it was a collaborative project because I listened to what they wanted.
JR: That’s a very validating experience I would assume. You can definitely see that these women are so confident when they’re photographing with you.
I really love that as a way of working because there is a strain sometimes between, especially in the industry, more so in fashion. Where the model and the photographer, there’s a power dynamic at play. Although here you’re relinquishing that power and giving it back to the women in these images.
TransLATINAS Collaborative Portraits by Joana Toro
JT:That’s a cool way to see it. Also, my relationships with these women have been growing for years. Which is also an ingredient that makes the pictures. It’s not only for the picture, and I don’t see you anymore. It is because I see them in other situations during the years.
“These portraits are just parentheses in their personal lives and also in mine.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
So you can feel a kind of intimacy because we met many times before the portraits.
A snippet from TransLATINAS Collaborative Portraits by Joana Toro
Lesly Herrera at Brooklyn beach is posing for a portrait taken by Joana Toro on 7/29/2020 in New York City.
She tells of her childhood in Mexico. At the age of 12, she began to take hormones in secret to transform her body. At 17, she left home to live in Mexico City where she had a difficult time.
Lesly then decided to migrate to the USA to escape a life of sexual harassment, police abuse, and a disapproving family atmosphere. According to the Translatina Coalition report, many Trans Latinx migrate to the USA in search of better social and economic opportunities.
Many leave because they fear for their lives or are unable to make a living in their country of birth. Ninety-nine percent of the participants in this study reported having better opportunities in the USA than in their country of origin. Today Lesly is a co-founder of the first Trans-owned co-op and an independent worker.
Joana Toro speaks to the next generation, of young documentary photographers
JR: I love that you’re building those relationships outside of the photos. That’s a very beautiful model of image making. Do you have any advice for young photographers starting out who want to make documentary work?
JT: That’s a difficult question. I can recommend passion and patience. It is easy when you are young. Documentary work takes a lot of time. Sometimes it won’t feel like the right moment but then you have to wait. Maybe you succeed, but then maybe receive rejection now and again.
It takes a lot of patience with a story but also you must have the passion to not give up. It can be very difficult. When you are knocking on doors, and no one answers. Also, as a freelance photographer, we send emails constantly and oftentimes do not receive a response.
“You have to keep going and follow your beliefs. Understand why you are doing this, and follow that passion strongly.”
– Joana Toro, Documentary Photographer
Some days you wake up with strength, and other days you may not. You have to be passionate about that as well, you’ll have to manage yourself, the story, and all the things life will throw at you. You have to be so personal, not only with others but also with yourself. If you want money, maybe this is not the best way. Find what works for you.
JR: Patience and passion. Absolutely. What projects are you working on? Or do you hope to create in the future?
JT: Yes, I am working in the African diaspora. I began to feel a curiosity about the African diaspora and the importance of that heritage in my country.
Trying to find a way to go deeper into that amazing and huge heritage Africa gave us as a country. I am also working on an issue that I am not sure what to call it yet.
I tried to go to a place in Colombia that is an important place not only for historic issues but also a place for Black people who have a heritage from Africa. How do these people in this town see themselves and preserve their culture?
