This episode we have the privilege of speaking with the legendary photographer and artist Ming Smith.

During a career spanning almost six decades, Smith has documented everyday moments while pushing the limits of photography as a medium. Her distinct style combines a deliberate blurriness with experimental post-production techniques including double exposure, collage, and painting to amplify the works’ dream-like qualities.

Well known for her in-action portraits of notable cultural icons - from James Baldwin to Grace Jones - Smith’s ethereal compositions celebrate the richness of Black culture and the African diaspora. In 1972, Ming joined the Kamoinge Workshop, a collective of Black photographers established in New York City.

Born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Smith earned a Bachelor of Science from Howard University before moving to New York in the early 1970’s, where she now lives and works.

Smith’s work has been exhibited in critically-acclaimed exhibitions including MoMA’s ‘Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography’; Brooklyn Museum’s ‘We Wanted A Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85.’ and one of my personal favorites - ‘Soul of a Nation’ which opened at Tate Modern, and traveled to Brooklyn Museum, Crystal Bridges and The Broad.

In addition, Smith’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art; and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. - just to name a few.

Some artists and individuals discussed in this episode:

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