Kamoinge, Inc. was founded as a collective of African-American photographers seeking artistic equality and empowerment. It works as a forum in which members view, nurture, critique and challenge each other’s work in an honest and understanding atmosphere. In 1963, two groups of African American photographers held a joint meeting. One group was Group 35, which included James Ray Francis, Louis Draper, Herman Howard, Earl James and Calvin Mercer. The other group included Herb Randall, Albert Fennar, Shawn Walker and James Mannas. Out of this meeting came the Kamoinge Workshop. The name derives from the Gikuyu language of Kenya and means ‘a group of people acting together.’ Photographers Roy DeCarava, Larry Stewart and Melvin Mills were important catalyst for the groups’ early development with DeCarava, a philosophic and artistic innovator, voted the first director of Kamoinge. ;xNLx;;xNLx;In 1965, the group opened the Kamoinge Gallery in a brownstone on West 137th Street. The activities in the new space included: numerous group exhibitions; rigorous but constructive critiques of photographs and portfolios; and frequent visitors and guest speakers. Early guests included: Peter Magune, a photojournalist from South Africa; John Szarkowski, Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art; Langston Hughes, playwright and Poet Laureate of Harlem; Henri Cartier-Bresson, the important French photojournalist; the R.E. Martinez, publisher of Camera, an influential Swiss photo magazine. Since the founding of Kamoinge its members have participated in hundreds of individual and group exhibitions in major national and international artistic institutions, too numerous to name. Kamoinge members have published scores of photographic books and portfolios, all concerned with the truth, insight and integrity of both the subject and artistic process. ;xNLx;;xNLx;Based in New York City, Kamoinge has met continuously since 1963 under the leadership of creative and active directors including Anthony Barboza, Roy DeCarava, Louis Draper and Beuford Smith. Individually, the members lecture, conduct seminars, teach in universities and work in fine art photography, commercial photography, motion pictures, and video. ;xNLx;;xNLx;Learn more here ;xNLx;;xNLx;[https://kamoingeworkshop.squarespace.com] ;xNLx;;xNLx;Digital Archive ;xNLx;[https://legacyofkw.omeka.net];xNLx;;xNLx;Color key: ;xNLx;Burgundy - Kamoinge specific events ;xNLx;Green - Kamoinge Related events ;xNLx;Orange - Ext. historical events
The all-black photography collectives Group 35 and Kamoinge merged to form the Kamoinge Workshop. The Workshop's fifteen founders included Adger Cowans, Roy DeCarava, Louis Draper, Al Fennar, Ray Francis, Herman Howard, Earl James, Jimmie Mannas, Calvin Mercer, Herb Randall, Shawn Walker, and Larry Stewart. DeCarava, an artistic innovator who served as Kamoinge’s first director, was well-known for his chronicles of daily life in Harlem, the civil rights movement, and jazz. Under his leadership, the group received early support from cultural influencers including Henri Cartier- Bresson, Langston Hughes, and James Van Der Zee. Today, Kamoinge’s 20+ members include Anthony Barboza, Ming Smith Murray, and Jamel Shabazz.
The collective voted Roy DeCarava to serve as its first director with his philosophy and artistic innovation providing leadership. Mr. DeCarava was a seasoned veteran with immense knowledge based on the success of his landmark book “The Sweet Flypaper of Life” (1955) with text by Langston Hughes.
On February 21, 1965, one week after his home was firebombed, Malcolm X was shot to death by Nation of Islam members while speaking at a rally of his organization in New York City.
In 1965, Kamoinge held their first photographer's exhibition at the Kamoinge Workshop Gallery. The exhibition was open from April 4-25 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 7:00pm - 10:00pm.
Kamoinge opened their first gallery in a brownstone at 248 West 139th street, called Market Place Gallery.
Shawn Walker, James Mannas Jr., James Connors
Harlem's recently formed Black Panther party, an antiintegration group of articulate young militants, staged its first direct-action demonstration yesterday picketing a local school. Twelve of its members were promptly arrested. The charges included disorderly conduct. (NY Times)
Twelve of the Kamoinge members showcased their work at the Studio Museum of Harlem. In exhibiting these works by African-Americans, Kamoinge was challenging a marginalizing industry and gained the attention of museums, scholars, magazines, libraries, and galleries.
A flyer for Kamoinge's workshop for students of color at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design Gund Hall.
Under the leadership of former president Beuford Smith the Kamoinge photographers were a central focus of the historic “Black Photographers Annual.”
Kamoinge made history by welcoming Ming Smith as the first woman to be voted into the collective.
Marc Riboud of Magnum Photos and the Kamoinge Workshop debuted ‘Turbulent Decades: Against the Odds’ at the International Center of Photography.
No. 1 Vol. 1 Quarterly Newsletter A winter newsletter published by Kamoinge's sub-org International Black Photographers and written by Cheryl V. Greene. It expands on the history of IBP and it's roots in Kamoinge. The picture is of an event hosted by IBP that brought together Black photographers from all over the world.
Participants: Louis Draper, Shawn Walker, Ray Francis, Beuford Smith, and Anthony Barboza interviewed by Carrie Mae Weems; and Roy DeCarava interviewed by Jules Allen. The interview was taped at Shawn Walker's studio in New York, NY by Al Santana.
This transcript is an account of the conversation between an OBSCURA rep and Carrie Weems on Kamoinge. Weems shares a bit about the founding history and Lou Draper's particular influences in the building of the collective.
Schomburg Center Participating Artists: Sulaiman Ellison, Vance Allen, Mel Wright, Frank Stewart, John Pinderhughes, Dawoud Bey, Correen Simpson, Shawn Walker
Mercer County Community College, West Windsor Campus, Library , West Windsor, NJ. Participating Artists: Jules Allen, Anthony Barboza, Ronald Barboza, Dawoud Bey, Charles Biasiny-Rivera, Albert Chong, Kerry Coppin, Adger Cowans, Duane Davis, Louis Draper, Suliemann Ellison, Albert Fennar, Frank Gimpaya, Aubrey Kauffman, George Malave, Marilyn Nance, Wayne Providence, Shawn Walker, Daniel Williams
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Ohio. Participating Artists: Jules Allen, Anthony Barboza, Albert V. Chong, Adger W. Cowans, Louis Draper, Roland L. Freeman, John Pinderhughes, Wayne Providence, Coreen Simpson, Lorna Simpson, Ming Smith, Frank Steward, Shawn Walker, Daniel S. Williams
La Galeria En El Bohio. Participating Artists: Vito Acconi, Fran antman, Madeleine Artneberg, Rudolf Baranik, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Karin Batten, Donna Binder, Karl Bissinger, Robert Blackburn, Timothy Blunk, Pat Brazill, Larry Brown, Vivian E. Browne, Eva Crockcroft, Sue Coe, Papo Colo, Thom Corn, Rafael DeJesus, Brett DePalma, Jimmie Durham, Mel Edwards, Ralph Fasanella, Deborah Hay, Tom Feelings, Felix, Angela Fremont, Ismael Frigerio, Angel Luis Garcia, Art guerra, Richard Haden, Joan Harmon, Eric Head, Sally Heller, Scott Henstrand, Candance Hill-Montgomery, Judy Janda, Noah Jemison, Cliff Joseph, Jon Keller, Sally Ketcham, Janet Joenig, Tom Keough, Alexander Kosolapov, Jacob Landau, Maneul Macarrulla, Barbara McPhail, Robin Michals, Charles Mingus III, Alice Neel, Pepon Osorio, John Parnell, Mary Patten, Amado Peña, Howardena Pindell, Kristen Reed, Vilma Maldonado-Reyes, Faith Ringgold, Geno Redrigues, Tim Rollins, Mel Rosenthal, Early Rudolph, Vincent Salas, Sam, Juan Sanchez, Frank Shifreen, Vincent D. Smith, Skip Snow, Emanuel Solomon, Paul R. Solomon, John T. Spencer, Carlos Sueños, Ena Swansea, Jorge Tacla, Seth Tobocman, Julius Valuinas, Sean Walker [sic.], John Pittman Weber, Arnold Wechsler, Gilberto Wilson, Yong Soon Min
P.S. 1, Long Island City, NY. Participating Artists: Dawoud Bey, Marilyn Nance, Shawn Walker, Dwight Hines
A former Marine and Howard University graduate, David Dinkins rose to political prominence through the Democratic Party primarily in Harlem and came to be known to all New Yorkers when he served as Manhattan borough president. His election to the mayoralty heralded in a new and swift decrease in crime throughout the five boroughs, a direct result of his Safe Streets, Safe Cities program and a 25-percent expansion of the police department. (CBS Local)
Rockland State Museum. New York, NY. Participating Artists: Salimah Ali, Ellen Blalock, Terry Boddie, Ronald M. Campbell, Jacques Chenet, Albert Chong, Wayne Clarke, Louis H. Draper, Sulaiman Ellison, Sharon Farmer, Collette Fournier, Chet Gordon, Fern Logan, Cheryl Miller, Marilyn Nance, Sidney Sele, Jacqueline L. Van Sertima, John Vasser, Shawn C. Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Budd C. A. Williams, Gerald S. Williams, Mel Wright
Kamoinge's THEME: BLACK exhibition was one of the first exhibits curated by the group in 1965. It took place at the Kamoinge Workshop Gallery in Harlem, New York, and was one display from April 4-25. The gallery was closed only on Monday and Wednesday.
Native Harlemite Neal Shoemaker, started Harlem Heritage Tours in 1998, after realizing the opportunity that tourism offers Harlem to preserve its culture and contribute to the development of the local economy. All tours and events are conducted by those who were actually born and raised in Harlem. When we started Harlem Heritage Tours ten years ago, many thought that visitors would be reluctant to visit the community. But to our pleasant surprise, we were happy to realize that the public was thirsty for authentic experiences presented via the eyes of those who are actually from Harlem. Customers have expressed to us that they want the heritage of Harlem to come alive. (Harlem Heritage)
UFA Gallery. Curator: Steve J. Martin. Participating Artists: Anthony Barboza, Adger W. Cowans [sic], Louis H. Draper, Albert R. Fennar, Ray Frances, Steve Martin, Toni Parks, John Pinderhughes, Herb Randall, Herb Robinson, Sa Rudolph, Beuford Smith, Frank Stewart, Shawn W. Walker
Kamoinge hosts their annual picnic in Prospect Part West. This year's picnic is dedicated to Lou Draper, a founder of Kamoinge. A group photo was scheduled to be taken by Herb Robinson at 4pm.
Frank Stewart brokered a deal with Atria books to release ‘The Sweet Breath of Life.’ The visual and written narrative was a tribute to Roy DeCarava by Kamoinge with text by notable poet and playwright Ntozake Shange.
A scholarship memo by the Kamoinge Workshop. This image gives background on one of the founding members, Shawn Walker. Listed in 2006, the scholarship was a joint effort between Kamoinge and Columbia College Chicago to alleviate the stresses of undergraduate tuition fees.
Kamoinge under the direction of Anthony Barboza had a nationwide exhibit in Nordstrom’s department stores based on the collective’s book the ‘Sweet Breath of Life.’
The Open Society Foundation adjusted its guidelines to award the group its first grant to document the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for a year.
HP Gallery at Columet Photo. New York, NY.
Nathan Cummings Foundation. New York, NY. Curator: Romare Bearden Foundation
HP Gallery, Calulmet Photo. Curator: C. Daniel Dawson, Russell K. Frederick, John Pinderhughes, and Radcliffe Roye. Participating Artists: Salimah Ali, Gerald Cyrus, Collette V. Fournier, Russell K. Frederick, Wayne Lawrence, John Pinderhughers, Herb Robinson, Radcliffe Roye, Frank Stewart, and Shawn Walker
Baobab Center, University of Rochester. Rochester, NY. Participating Artists: Collette Fournier, Shawn Walker, Jamel Shabazz, June DeLairre Truesdale, Salimah Ali
Schomburg Center New York, NY. Curators: Howard Dodson, Mary F. Yearwood, Deborah Willis. Participating Artists: Lamar Burroughs, Shawn Walker, Lee E. White, Hakim Mutlaq, Kwame Brathwaite, Lance Ramsey, Howard Cash, June DeLairre Truesdale, Juanita M. Cole, Lisa DuBouis, Isseu Diouf, Beverly Terry, Jewel Shears, Ronald Heard, Karl Crutchfield, Mamadou Dabo, Tyrone Rasheed, Kenneth Basemore, Azim Thomas, Klytus Smith, Jimbe Carroll
Keith De Lellis Gallery. New York, NY. Participating Artists: Fred Baker, Beuford Smith, Al Smith, Mikki Ferrill, Shawn Walker.
Nathan Cummings Foundation. New York, NY. Curator: Curated by C. Daniel Dawson, Diedra Harris-Kelley and Robert G. O'Meally and organized by the Romare Bearden Foundation
Rio II Gallery. New York, NY. Participating Artists: Anthony Barboza, Lamar Burroughs, John Brathwaite, Kwame Brathwaite, Lenore Brown, Adger Cowan, Lisa DuBois, Antoine Minter, John Pinderhughes, Adriana Lopez Sanfeliu, Jamal Shabazz, Clytus Smith, Shawn Walker, Lewis Watts, Lee White, Debra Willis
Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba. New York, NY. Curator: Ed Sherman. Participating Artists: Astorga, Bagwell, Amiri Baraka, Romare Bearden, Bell, Dawoud Bey, Betty Blayton, Brathwaite, Broadway, Browne, Chapman, Roy DeCarava, Delarte, Denmark, Edmonds, Fungcap, Goodnight, Greene, Griffin, Gumbs, Hart, Hicks, Johnson, Jones, Ka, Lawyer, Lee, McCannon, McIntosh, Neals, Olugebefola, Overstreet, Pyatt, Reilly, Samson, Simmons, Smith, Stewart, Tafa, Taksley, Tinnie, Shawn Walker, Walton, Wiggleworth, Williams, Wimberley
The Malcolm X & Dr Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. New York, NY. Participating Artists: Douglas R. Adams, Jr., Terry Beverly, Lyric R. Cabral, Jimbe Carroll, Howard Cash, Paul Chinnery, Adger Cowens, Lynne St. Clare-Foster, LeRoy Henderson, Chester Higgins, Jr., Borroughs Lamar, A.D. Minter, Erik James Montgomery, Ocean Morisset, Hammim Mutiaq, Tamara Ramos, Jamal Shabazz, Jewel Shears, Kenya Smith, Klytus Smith, Azim Thomas, Shawn Walker
The Dwyer Cultural Center. New York, NY. Curator: Ed Sherman. Participating Artists: Ademola Olugebefola, Al Johnson, Charlotte Ka, Chuck Stewart, Dick Griffin, Dindga McCannon, Errol Reynolds, Gina Samson, Grace Williams, James Edmonds, Jimmy JamesGreene, Karl McIntosh, Kwame Brathwaite, Michael Kelly Williams, Minerva Diaz, Okoe Pyatt, Richard Barclift, Ronald Walton, Shawn Walker, Sophia Dawson, Tomo Mori
The Nathan Cummings Foundation welcomed the collective and the En Foco organization to showcase “Advancing the Frame.”
Kamoinge released its acclaimed Schiffer published book ‘Timeless’ under the direction of Anthony Barboza, Herb Robinson, and Vin Alabiso.
“Visually Speaking” a Terrence Jennings production at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture hosted a slide show and book signing for "Timeless."
The membership decided to have a changing of the guards. Adger Cowans was promoted to President (formerly Vice President) and Russell Frederick was voted as Vice President.
Brooklyn Bridge Park. New York, NY. Participating Artists: Eli Reed, Russell K. Frederick, Adger Cowans, Shawn Walker, Ming Murray Smith, Albert Fennar, Daniel Dawson, Radcliffe Roye, Salimah Ali, John Pinderhughes, A.D. Minter, Frank Stewart, Gerald Cyrus, Ray Francis, Louis Draper, Herb Randall, June DeLairre Truesdale
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