FREE Film Dev Services for BIPOC Photographers

"The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible" -Toni Cade Bambara

We at f11thstreet believe that it should be Black and BIPOC artists to be in charge of the documentation and portrayal of these events.  At the onset of the protests the largest publications in the US including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Washington Post and The Wall Street journal all featured photographs  of the BLM protests on the cover, NONE of the photographers were Black.  This is a system of discrimination that favors a certain type of person to document history. Black narratives by Black people are being left out. The stories that will be told will be from the perspective of outsiders and as good as their intentions may be the perspective will not be our own. This is why it is extremely important for Black and BIPOC artists/photographers to be in charge of shaping of knowledge and representation that will come from these events. 

We have been offering free developing services and free film for BIPOC photographers documenting  the protests.  Hundreds of people have shown interest but we do not have the resources that photography labs do since we are new and started our services as an immediate reaction to the disparity in representation. Your donation will help us acquire more equipment, chemical supply, film, cameras and also be able to expand our services to BIPOC artists beyond the protests which is equally important to help them with their personal art/photojournalism.

We appreciate your support in empowering artists to tell their own stories. We look forward to sharing them on Instagram and a possible Zine if the program is successful.