The photographer explains how Harlem, where he has lived a lifetime, and its music scene have influenced his approach to photography as an art form.
Shawn Walker is a photographer and founding member of Kamoinge Workshop, a Black photographers’ collective that embraces an expansive philosophy of art in the practice of photography. In this Oral History Project excerpt, Walker is forthright about the origin of his five-decades-long career and the importance of nurturing his artistic practice in his beloved home, Harlem, and honing it further through his travels around the world. Interviewed by fellow photographer and Kamoinge member Charles Daniel Dawson, Walker describes how music, especially jazz, inspired him to create photographs that have lasting impact on their viewers. Throughout this conversation, Walker and Dawson reminisce on their shared history and pay homage to the diverse artists, musicians, painters, writers, filmmakers, and photographers who inspire them.
—Janée A. Moses, Director of the Oral History Project
The Oral History Project is made possible with a major grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Additional support is provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
