Photographer Hosts Salon to Honor Black History

Just back from the first annual Addis Foto Fest in Ethiopia, Regine Romain is keeping her momentum by hosting the Brooklyn Photo Salon, a quarterly photographer’s gathering, which will be held this Sunday at .

Started in 2008, each gathering includes a slideshow presentation and talk by four photographers, often organized around a theme.

This Salon’s theme considers the heritage of Carter G. Woodson. Woodson dedicated his life to preserving the history of African Americans whose history he felt was neglected. His determination to get recognition of the African Americans in American and World history inspired the founding of Negro History Week in 1926, an event that developed into what we now celebrate as Black History Month.

In using Woodson as the inspiration for the Brooklyn Photo Salon, Romain said she is “honoring his inquiry of who we are and where we come from.”

Romain chose each of the four presenting photographers, Adger Cowans, Delphine Fawundu-Buford, Boniface Mwangi, and Thomas Allen Harris because each represents a facet of Carter G. Woodson’s legacy.

Thomas Allen Harris will share excerpts from his upcoming photography based projects; "Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR)" and the feature documentary film "Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People." 

The DDFR is a multimedia community engagement initiative designed to illuminate the hidden history of African American & African Diasporic people as told through their family photographs. The film interweaves the work of contemporary artists with the stories of pioneering Black men and women photographers, whose images helped to reclaim the collective self-worth of African Americans.

Delphine Fawundu-Buford, a Brooklyn native of Sierra Leonean descent, is a well-known fixture in the New York hip-hop, R&B music and fashion scene. Fawundu-Buford's work ranges from photographing hip-hop icons to photographing the post-Katrina scene in New Orleans. Her photos provide a rich overview of Black life and society in urban America today. Fawundu-

Buford's latest photography and film project "Tivoli Towers: A Place We Call Home," documents a group of Crown Heights residents taking a stand against gentrification.

Adger Cowans has been photographing for over 45 years, starting his career as an assistant to Gordon Parks. Cowans then became a still photographer in the Hollywood film industry and has captured the works of such film directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Bill Duke, Ron Howard, Spike Lee, and Sidney Lumet. He is one of the few African-Americans to have such success in the film stills industry.

Cowans is one of the original members of Kamoinge, Inc, a black photography collective which was formed in New York in 1963 to address the under-representation of black photographers in the art world.

Boniface Mwangi, a native of Kenya, is a photojournalist who focused on the post-election violence of 2007 and 2008 in Kenya that tore Kenya's ethnic communities apart. 

Boniface Mwangi will share his experiences and explain the inspiration behind the creation of Picha Mtaani – a youth-led peace initiative and street exhibition that uses Mwangi’s post election images to create space for young people to reconcile. Romain met Mwangi in Kenya and invited him to the Brooklyn Photo Salon so that people can share ideas beyond borders.

With these photographers the Brooklyn Photo salon encompasses historic, contemporary, local, and international aspects. Come early and bring a dish to share. The exchange of ideas will happen through the slideshow but also by sharing a meal.

The event takes place at , 721 Franklin Avenue (between Park & Sterling) on Sunday, Feb. 20, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Free.