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Feb. 14: Week in Photography
Your lens to the internet's most powerful photographs.
📸For Your 👀 Only: A Conversation with SHAVONE. and Polly Irungu Akilah Townsend Polly Irungu and Shavone Charles are two young women who are poised to make significant changes to the photography community, and what we see when we turn on our phones. SHAVONE. is the mind behind the #BlackJoyMatters project, which has become a way for photographers and creatives around the world to spotlight their work online.
What do you do?
POLLY IRUNGU: By day, I am a digital editor at New York Public Radio (WNYC) on a program called The Takeaway. By night, I am a freelance photographer and journalist. I am also the founder of Black Women Photographers, a global community and directory of Black women and nonbinary photographers.
SHAVONE.: I’m a multi-hyphenate creative, model, musician, and diversity advocate, currently in tech overseeing communications and creative partnerships at VSCO! I’ve been in tech throughout all of my professional career and kicked off my tech journey at Google, Twitter, and Instagram/Facebook. I’ve spent the majority of my career advocating for underrepresented creators and communities across the intersection of tech, contemporary art, entertainment, and fashion.
Tell readers about the #BlackJoyMatters project. How did it come about?
SHAVONE.: #BlackJoyMatters is a VSCO initiative and ongoing series launched to celebrate and document Black Joy through the lens of multidisciplinary Black creatives. Last summer, in the midst of very trying times and ongoing exhausting news cycles around police brutality, this project was really a breath of fresh air for me, my colleague Ashley Robinson and the entire team that worked to bring #BlackJoyMatters to life. We loved working with Polly and the BWP to amplify the voices of Black Women and also highlight the amazing work across their network. We brought BWP on as a key collaborator throughout our series and we're excited to keep the momentum going.
POLLY: Who couldn't use a little more joy, especially Black joy in their life?
SHAVONE.: Right! JadaImani M You're both Black creatives who take it upon yourselves to promote and advocate for others in the community who may have less access or reach than you do. How does that feel, at the end of the day — rewarding? Exhausting? A mix of both?
POLLY: Whewww! It is definitely both. I think one thing people don’t realize is that when you’re constantly pouring into the community, it can take a toll especially if you do not have anyone pouring back into you. With that being said, it is one of the most rewarding experiences to see your advocacy and behind the scenes work making an impact and helping other Black creatives. Some days it feels like, ‘if I don’t do this work, then who will?’ If I know I can make a difference now, why wait?
SHAVONE.: Wow. That first part Polly, whew. So so true. Can't agree enough with the need for all of us to have shared accountability around making sure the environments and communities we pour into, pour right back into us as well.
SHAVONE.: Some days are harder than others but this work is no doubt necessary. We have to be accountable for ourselves and our communities. We don’t have saviors or others coming to relieve us of systemic racism. With the internet and technology as our most vital current tool sets, we have to share our stories and lift others around us up as we climb.
We also have to take care of ourselves in the process and prioritize self-care while we carry out this very important and necessary work. Seizing Black Joy is a radical act and practice that we have to continue to prize and prioritize.
POLLY: Preach, Shavone!
SHAVONE.: You already know, P! You are living this, through your work and community. Truly!
Cidgy Bossuet What's a time in your career where you felt like, Wow, I've made it?
POLLY: When I saw my work on Nasdaq’s Tower in Times Square as part of their Amplifying Black Voices campaign, I definitely had a brief moment of the “Momma, I made it” feeling. But naturally, as a creative, I am always wanting more. Don't get me wrong, I took time to celebrate that achievement but I didn’t stop there. This month, I went back to Nasdaq to pitch a collaboration with Black Women Photographers. Throughout the month of February, they will be amplifying more Black voices, specifically, Black women and nonbinary photographers. To me, it is not enough for only me to just “make it.” I am constantly thinking about how I can bring other Black women into these spaces. The work I have put in for the last seven months to build this community is just another example of that commitment. Most recently, it was truly rewarding and a “wow, *we* made it” feeling when The Kelly Clarkson Show invited me to talk about the work I am doing to help more Black women photographers get hired.
SHAVONE.: YASSSS, Polly! I know that's right!
POLLY: LOL, thank you, Shavone!!
SHAVONE.: Honestly on my end, I haven’t yet fully felt this, mostly because I look around and see that so many people (including my family, peers, and colleagues) are in need in some shape or form. As a Black woman and Black creator, financial freedom and access are two of the most important factors that would impact me feeling like I’ve made real progress and created positive generational impact and equity for those who need it. I’m grateful for the earned opportunities and accomplishments I’ve had thus far but the work continues!
To Polly's point — it is important for us to stop and just breathe and celebrate our wins and progress along the way though. I am working on being better at that!
POLLY: It is definitely a work in progress on my end, too! Amen to that - here's to generational wealth!
SHAVONE.: Isn't it? Always a battle to find balance through it all!
Melissa Mjoen 📸THE WEEK'S PHOTO STORIES FROM BUZZFEED NEWS 📸 This past week saw beginning of Lunar New Year, Trump's second impeachment, the Super Bowl, and the Britney Spears documentary. Here at BuzzFeed News, we'll be highlighting Black stories all month. Even if you don't have a Valentine, here are some of the best photo stories from around the internet, and what we loved from our desk. SEEKING GOOD FORTUNES IN CHINATOWN Julia Wang for BuzzFeed News SEE THE FULL STORYTHE POSITIVE IMPACT OF A NEW SUPERMARKET Michael M Santiago SEE THE FULL STORYTHESE STRANGE, POETIC DISHES ARE A PIECE OF CHINA'S CULINARY HISTORY Courtesy of Dieter Mackenbach SEE THE FULL STORY
📸SOME HOPE 📸 Keith Birmingham / Getty Images UCLA Bruins gymnast Nia Dennis went viral in January for her amazing floor routine. Here, her teammates applaud her after a bar routine on Feb. 10th. Just because you make it big doesn't mean the work is over! “We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.”— Ralph Hattersley That's it for this week! Kate + Pia Want More? Go To JPG Homepage
📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by the News Photo team. Kate Bubacz is the photo director based in New York and loves dogs. Pia Peterson is a photo editor based in Brooklyn. You can always reach us here.
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