F  L  A  U  N  T

 Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry) Last weekend in LA, the Black Image Center curated and hosted the 2021 _Hear Her Here_ event, an initiative that seeks to share and highlight the work of Black femme artists. As a part of the event, the Black Family Archive celebrated the powerful history and legacy of black culture in LA’s Leimert park neighborhood. The weekend long event also incorporates a series of murals by artists Hana Ward, Adee Roberson, and April Bey, all of which will be showcased throughout Los Angeles in the months to come. With support from art collectives For Freedoms and Converse, _Hear Her Here_ exemplifies how communities can come together to celebrate art while also advocating for a just cause, providing artists who are often not given the credit they deserve with a space to network and bond over shared passions and identities.  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry) Maya Mansour and Kalena Yiaueki are two of the organizers behind Black Image Center who helped to make the _Hear Her Here_ event happen. Yiaueki is a senior creative producer with a focus in fashion and film and over fifteen years of experience working in New York while Mansour is a multidisciplinary creative with experience both behind and in front of the camera. Both creatives share a love for using photography as a means of escapism, whether that be finding yourself spiritually through a photo or entering another realm that only a camera can capture.  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry) **What was the inspiration behind the Black Family Archive?** Black Family Archive was Black Image Center's very first in person event and we wanted to engage our community in an intergenerational way. A lot of the founding members of BIC were already working on projects about our own lineage and how our families have been documented (or not documented) before we all came together as a group, so it felt really natural for the theme of our inaugural event to reflect what a lot of us were already thinking about. Additionally, when thinking about representation of Black people, family photos are often the first (and sometimes the only) time we see ourselves reflected in imagery. By spending time with our own archives, we realized that family photos are the building blocks of Black history and the foundations of our collective visual language. We wanted our first event to be something that was more accessible and less ego-driven than a gallery show, so we landed on the idea of offering archival consultations with professional archivists so folks could have the opportunity to learn alongside us as we're all on this journey of tending to our family legacies.  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie) **Can you speak to the importance of documenting one’s family history and how it connects to the displacement of Black families?** Images have the power of asserting place—they say "I was here" in a way that a lot of our ancestors haven't been afforded. We wanted to honor and instill reverence towards the family photos that we do have as a way to highlight how precious we all are. Keeping our family photos safe and using them as a catalyst for conversation allows us to connect to our own histories.  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry) **What were you most looking forward to the most hosting an event like this?** Personally, I was most excited for the children's class that I taught on Saturday. In the class, kids 3-15 directed and photographed their own family portraits using instant cameras and BKIFI [filters](https://www.brooklyninstantfilminitiative.com/collections/instant-film-adapters/products/bkifi-instax-wide-adapters?variant=39424704151742). I'm always excited to put cameras into the hands of children because the images they take consistently blow me away. I've taught classes similar to this but never with the added task of taking their own family's portrait. It was really incredible to see how much ownership the kids were able to take as they directed their family members on where to stand and how to pose, along with how mindful they were when snapping their photos.  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie) **Can you tell me about Leimert Park and why you chose to host this event there and its connection to Black creatives in LA?** BIC came together in response to the active gentrification in South LA, and specifically Leimert Park. A lot of us live in or around the area and are frustrated that, as working photographers, we have to leave our neighborhoods to find equipment, studios, and job opportunities. Hosting the Pop-Up in Leimert was an intentional move to remind folks that Black image makers are here, alive and well. We also wanted to tap into the already existing creative community and draw upon the legacy that Leimert Park has of being a creative hub and safe haven for Black artists that are from LA along with folks who move to the city.  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie) **What is one thing you hope visitors of the Black Family Archive took away from the event?** Our goal in hosting the Black Family Archive Pop-Up is that folks leave feeling an increased sense of capacity to steward their own family archive and pass it down to the next generation. We wanted to get young folks to reach out to their family members, typically aunties, that are essentially the 'keepers of the archive.' These are the people who have all the shoeboxes, scrapbooks, and folders of family photos and documents. By tapping into the already existing network of people in our own families who are already doing the work of archiving, we're able to learn, share and grow. A lot of the intention behind our offerings- from the consultations with the archivists to the free film fridge- was to highlight the ways that we are already doing archival and photographic work, even if we don't use those labels.  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Solomon R. Henry)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie)  Courtesy of For Freedoms (Photo Credit: Harold “Momo” Milton-Gorvie)