Photo: Copyright Nydia Blas
Photo: Copyright Sabriya Simon
In 1986, history was made when Jeanne Moutousammy-Ashe published Viewfinders: Black Women Photographers (Dodd Mead), the first book to showcase the history of African-American women behind the camera dating back dating back to 1866. It spanned more than a century of work, showcasing the work of artists whose work had gone largely unrecognised in photography, which the author described to the Chicago Tribune as a traditionally racist and sexist industry.
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The book spoke to Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, a young photographer from Brooklyn, who wanted to see more. As years passed, nothing occurred – so Barrayn took it upon herself to be the change she wanted to see in the world. In 2006, she and photographer Adama Delphine Fawundu put together a prototype for the project that would become MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora.
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MFON is a biannual journal that will launch with a book of the same name featuring work of 100 women from across the diaspora, including Ming Smith, Delphine Diallo, Émilie Régnier, Lauri Lyons, Noelle Théard, and Dr. Deborah Willis, who wrote the introduction. MFON is named for Mmekutmfon “Mfon” Essien (1967 – 2001) a visionary Nigerian-American photographer who died from breast cancer the day before her photographs from The Amazon’s New Clothes, opened at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in the acclaimed exhibition Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers.
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With the spirit of Mfon guiding their journey, Barrayn and Fawundu persevered, creating the book through a grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council and crowdsourcing through GoFundMe. Photographers in their own right, Barrayn and Fawundu, know exactly what it takes to make great work. Together they reviewed more than 1,000 works created by women around the world, and honed their selection with precision to create a powerful look at the heart of photography through the eyes of Black women from all walks of life. From the work of 13-year-old Fanta Diop, a native of the South Bronx, to 91-year-old Mildred H. Jackson, who reflects on Harlem in the 1930s.
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Barrayn and Fawundu speak with us about their experience creating MFON, spotlighting the work of six artists featured in the book whose unique perspectives and incredible styles brings fresh new visions, original ideas, and innovative thinking to the art form while simultaneously giving us an inside look at the multidimensional experiences of Black women from every corner of the globe.
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Photo: Copyright Samantha Box
Photo: Copyright Hélène Amouzou