Meet Kevin Claiborne: Artist & Activist
Introducing Kevin Claiborne, who worked with us at Silo118 in Santa Barbara, CA. Kevin is now in NYC studying for his MFA in Visual Art at Columbia University. He has been in the streets during the protests, and his work is receiving a lot of recognition, well deserved. Links to recent articles are included below.
Recent photography by Kevin Claiborne, documenting the protests in NYC following the murder of George Floyd. Follow @kevinclaiborne on Instagram for more.
Painting by Kevin Claiborne
Recent Articles
In this recently published article, Kevin Claiborne writes about his experience photographing the protests in New York City. Here's an excerpt:
“The portraits of this moment will be timeless historical moments, and it is my responsibility to capture as much as I can to ensure history gets the full picture. People need to see these stories told by Black photographers, who are out here working during a pandemic that is disproportionately killing Black people.
“This is an opportunity to stop adding to the erasure and exploitation of Black life by the white gaze that has historically been used in photography. Everyone in the photography community has a responsibility to not repeat the same mistakes that have historically been used to silence Black voices in the framing of Black stories. I am fully aware that the violence we are protesting against is a long battle, and my weapon is an essential tool in dismantling systems of oppression and inequality through vivid and accurate storytelling. My artistry is part of my activism.”
