Help Erika Finish Her Senior Thesis!
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Hello!
Thank you for taking out the time to visit my gofundme page! I am currently a first semester Division III student at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA studying Photography and Africana Studies. I have begun working on my Division III thesis project where I have chosen to use the mediums of analog photography and video to explore the ways that the Black female body has been represented in different forms of media and how we as Black women can use different mediums to reclaim our bodies. Thus far, I have been in the research phase of my thesis which involves reading different texts dealing with the Black female body, looking at different images of Black women that have been created and circulated through advertisements, propaganda, branding, publications, etc., starting in the mid 19th century, and then contemporary media such as commercials, films, magazines, television, etc. I am specifically looking at representation with the 3 infamous Black female archetypes in mind, Mammy, Jezebel and Sapphire. These archetypes have a long history within our nation and are still perpetuated throughout mainstream media and have a profound impact on the lives of Black women in the United States today.
As a part of my research, I am trying to attend the Black Portraiture[s] II Conference that is being held in Florence, Italy and is put on by the TISCH School of Art at NYU. This year’s conference focuses on the representation of Black bodies in the West in art, film, literature, photography, and music, both historically and contemporarily. There will be workshops, panels, screenings and exhibitions held all over Florence; these panels and workshops will have some of the leading scholars and artists in these fields of study. Attending this conference will enable me to engage and create connections with others who study Black representation in various art mediums and having the opportunity to engage directly with the authors whose works I have been reading.
The next phase of my project is the production phase. During the summer I plan to return to NC to interview Black women from my community about how these representations affect their daily lives and how they each enact their own reclamation of their bodies. Based on their ideas of reclamation, we, as photographer and subject, will collaboratively create portraits that are a visual representation of their ideas. This whole process of the interview and portrait sessions will be documented through video and be used in the gallery installation of the portraiture that the subjects and I choose to appear in show.
For all of this to happen I need your help!
I am currently raising money for the funds to attend the Black Portraiture[s] II conference and the cost of materials for my gallery installation. Although I have applied for grants from Hampshite college and received some funding, this is not nearly enough to cover the costs of materials, let alone travel expenses, both domestic and abroad.
This amount covers all expenses for the Black Portraiture[s] II conference including a round trip flight, accommodations and food during my time there. I also need more funding for the materials needed to produce my gallery show such as film, printing/matting/ framing materials and domestic travel expenses. As an artist, it is extremely important to me to have reciprocal relationships with my subjects, therefore I also plan on giving each subject that takes part in my project their own copy of the portrait of their choice and a copy of the interviews. I hope that after my show is done at Hampshire college that I will be able to bring this installation back to my home, Durham, NC to share with my community.
This is a project that has been in the works for quite some time now, even before I transferred to Hampshire College. I am both nervous and excited that my undergraduate education is finally coming to a close after a long journey. I would like to thank you again for taking out the time to visit my gofundme page and read a little about my thesis. I hope that you will consider partnering with me to make this project possible.
Many thanks,
Erika Smith
Thank you for taking out the time to visit my gofundme page! I am currently a first semester Division III student at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA studying Photography and Africana Studies. I have begun working on my Division III thesis project where I have chosen to use the mediums of analog photography and video to explore the ways that the Black female body has been represented in different forms of media and how we as Black women can use different mediums to reclaim our bodies. Thus far, I have been in the research phase of my thesis which involves reading different texts dealing with the Black female body, looking at different images of Black women that have been created and circulated through advertisements, propaganda, branding, publications, etc., starting in the mid 19th century, and then contemporary media such as commercials, films, magazines, television, etc. I am specifically looking at representation with the 3 infamous Black female archetypes in mind, Mammy, Jezebel and Sapphire. These archetypes have a long history within our nation and are still perpetuated throughout mainstream media and have a profound impact on the lives of Black women in the United States today.
As a part of my research, I am trying to attend the Black Portraiture[s] II Conference that is being held in Florence, Italy and is put on by the TISCH School of Art at NYU. This year’s conference focuses on the representation of Black bodies in the West in art, film, literature, photography, and music, both historically and contemporarily. There will be workshops, panels, screenings and exhibitions held all over Florence; these panels and workshops will have some of the leading scholars and artists in these fields of study. Attending this conference will enable me to engage and create connections with others who study Black representation in various art mediums and having the opportunity to engage directly with the authors whose works I have been reading.
The next phase of my project is the production phase. During the summer I plan to return to NC to interview Black women from my community about how these representations affect their daily lives and how they each enact their own reclamation of their bodies. Based on their ideas of reclamation, we, as photographer and subject, will collaboratively create portraits that are a visual representation of their ideas. This whole process of the interview and portrait sessions will be documented through video and be used in the gallery installation of the portraiture that the subjects and I choose to appear in show.
For all of this to happen I need your help!
I am currently raising money for the funds to attend the Black Portraiture[s] II conference and the cost of materials for my gallery installation. Although I have applied for grants from Hampshite college and received some funding, this is not nearly enough to cover the costs of materials, let alone travel expenses, both domestic and abroad.
This amount covers all expenses for the Black Portraiture[s] II conference including a round trip flight, accommodations and food during my time there. I also need more funding for the materials needed to produce my gallery show such as film, printing/matting/ framing materials and domestic travel expenses. As an artist, it is extremely important to me to have reciprocal relationships with my subjects, therefore I also plan on giving each subject that takes part in my project their own copy of the portrait of their choice and a copy of the interviews. I hope that after my show is done at Hampshire college that I will be able to bring this installation back to my home, Durham, NC to share with my community.
This is a project that has been in the works for quite some time now, even before I transferred to Hampshire College. I am both nervous and excited that my undergraduate education is finally coming to a close after a long journey. I would like to thank you again for taking out the time to visit my gofundme page and read a little about my thesis. I hope that you will consider partnering with me to make this project possible.
Many thanks,
Erika Smith
Organizer
Erika Smith
Organizer
Chicopee, MA
