A new exhibition shines a light on the long-running collective of photographers who started documenting black culture in the 60s and haven’t stopped since

om-wean-yeh) collective all started in 1963, when a group of 14 black New York photographers came together to form a group, to
trade skills and offer critiques to one another. They chose “Kamoinge,” as it means “a group of people acting together” in Kenya’s Gikuyu language. They
worked to tell black stories by depicting black communities, from local neighbors to superstars, and saw their rise around the same time as the Black Arts
Movement. Kamoinge photographer
Adger Cowans,
who is 84, always believed the group could show the truth of black lives,
more so than an outsider.
The goal has always been to “show people in a positive light”.
A selection of over 100 photos by the group are on view in a survey at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York called
Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop,
which runs until 28 March.
“The 1960s and 1970s were a time of social unrest, as ours is at this point,” said Whitney curator Carrie Springer
“Looking at how they centered their artwork on depicting the community as they experienced it is inspiring, at a time like now,” said Springer. “Their
self-organizing work in their community represents an individual and collective truth, one which is focused on the power art can have in communities.”
(this traveling exhibition from the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
is curated by Sarah Eckhardt)

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jan/07/the-kamoinge-legacy-black-photographers-changed-game