The Anansi Creative Studio Storytellers Portrait Series is a multimodal project in celebration of NYC pride and culture, driven by the vibrant stories of local Black and Brown creatives and entrepreneurs.
Series 1 is a testament to the limitless possibilities of Black creativity and storytelling, and a celebration of eight Black photographers: Natiah Jones, Kedrick Walker, and Sade Fasanya of Souls in Focus, Lami Amoky of Creative X Productions, Xavier of Invisionary Media, Gabriel Johnson of Levue Studios, J. Will of CR3ATIVEWILL, and Justin Shockley of pocstock.
*This collection is best viewed on a computer device.
Storytellers Creative Team
Photos captured by J. Will and Leilani Ross-Graham
Collected Portraits
Photographs captured by Souls in Focus:
Sade Fasanya, Natiah Jones, and Kedrick Walker
Location
Levue Studios, NYC
Year
2024
Aesthetic
Natural Linen
With a camera, I feel like I could create, that's where I get to express myself, and I get to be free and do what I want, when I want, and how I want it. When I'm shooting or when I have a camera in my hand, it gives me the power.
Melissa
I'm very much the type of person, that if the table doesn't exist, I'm going to build it myself and bring everybody in.
Hilda
I feel as though when we all come together and collaborate and exchange resources, we can become a better version of ourselves, and we can expand on each other's gifts as well... because we all have a purpose, and my purpose in life is to encourage others to discover their purpose.
Darlyncia
Photographs captured by Souls in Focus: Kedrick Walker
Location
Levue Studios, NYC
Year
2024
Aesthetic
Sky Dreams
When I'm in a space with people that look like me and represent me, it inspires me and gives me the courage to just be myself.
Nadine
Photographs captured by Xavier and Lami Amoky
Location
Levue Studios, NYC
Year
2024
Aesthetic
Natural Linen + Sky Dreams
If I have the opportunity to say something and it changes the way you think or feel, I feel like that's a like a plus one or a point. So seeing people think differently or feel differently in the moment when they listen to something I say or something I put together - that’s the best part.
Jelani
It is only now that I can recognize how the birth of this dream began long before my adulthood, in those moments sharing reading time and stories with my mother. It’s those moments - memories of beaming celebratory pride inherited from generations of a proud Jamaican family - that seep into and inform what I do and who I am today. Stories are a part of my livelihood; a symbol of strength, character, and culture. They mark that we are alive. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Simone