NYDIA BLAS
Resana with Baseball Bat, 2016
Photography
Pigment inkjet on fine art baryta paper 310gms
Pigment inkjet on fine art baryta paper 310gms
50x40cm
Ed 1/5 + 2AP
© Nydia Blas
'In 2011, I began a Girl Empowerment Group after observing a lack of space and community for teen girls of African descent in Ithaca, N.Y. My goal was to create...
"In 2011, I began a Girl Empowerment Group after observing a lack of space and community for teen girls of African descent in Ithaca, N.Y. My goal was to create a space where a group of girls I had developed relationships with felt valued, supported and that filled in the blanks where their formal education did not serve them. We read books that pertained to their lives and experiences, we deconstructed rap videos, we kept journals, and they danced and performed at local events. We threw chaperoned parties for bored teenagers in the community and traveled to Harlem to visit the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and attend the Kwanzaa Celebration at the Apollo Theatre. Amidst the fun and activities, what moved me the most were our conversations about self-esteem, their motivations to grow and move forward in life, and the exchange of knowledge in an intimate space. Eventually, our bonds were reproduced visually in the photographs that we worked to make together." Nydia Blas.
2
of
2