Sistagraphy
Email: FTREIDPHOTOGRAPHY@GMAIL.COM
Website: WWW.SISTAGRAPHY.ORG
Medium: PHOTOGRAPHY, AUDIO VISUAL, MIXED MEDIA, PAINTING
About the Artists
Twenty years ago, nine African American women photographers, exploring diverse photographic genres, gathered together in Atlanta, Georgia, to discuss ways to creatively express themselves through the photographic arts. On July 17, 1993 this group was named “Sistagraphy,” sisters of photography. The term combines “sista“ with “graphy” and means love for each other and gratitude for the photographic medium as a means of expression. Sistagraphy also provides a sisterhood for women to bond and to share their own perspectives, making personal and social commentaries using their camera lenses, and exhibiting their photographs for the world to view. Sistagraphy members merge portraiture, documentary, digital and mixed media with playfulness and innovation contributing a unique voice to the broader dialog surrounding fine art photography.
From the outset, the goal of Sistagraphy has been to provide a forum for black women photographers to examine the contemporary and historical issues that affect our society through the photographic medium. As the only known collective of this kind, Sistagraphy holds a unique place in the history of photography in the United States.
Based in Atlanta, Sistagraphy has maintained a continuous membership, ranging in ages from 19 – 70 plus, with members living in California, Ohio, New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The multifaceted artistic visions of the women who are a part of this photographic art collective included accomplished professionals as well as novice. In the tradition of the African village, Sistagraphy mentoring environment dictates that those more experienced reach out to newer inexperienced members.