Capturing Kinship: Laila Annmarie Stevens' Vision of Family and Heritage
A Recognition of Emerging Artistic Talent: The Rising Voice Grant and Laila Annmarie Stevens' Groundbreaking Project
As part of the acclaimed Global Open Call, the \"Women by Women\" initiative recognized Laila Annmarie Stevens with the prestigious Rising Voice Grant, an award celebrating her unique artistic perspective and significant promise as an emerging photographer. Stevens, a Black queer visual artist, focuses her practice on challenging and expanding the conventional understanding of family through the lens of queer kinship. Her compelling work, titled Clayton Sisterhood Project, intimately portrays her family's journey from New York to North Carolina, serving as a powerful homage to their lineage and the rich ancestral wisdom inherited from Black women. Through striking black-and-white images, Stevens captures candid moments of daily existence, with her subjects often meeting the camera's gaze, embodying resilience, self-possession, and a redefined sense of belonging for both past and future generations.
The Artist's First Foray into Photography: Nurturing Creativity Through Friendship
Stevens' photographic journey began during her high school years, where she honed her skills by taking portraits of her close friend, JoliAmour DuBose-Morris. This formative friendship provided a crucial space for creative exploration and experimentation, fostering a deep understanding of how raw human experiences, particularly the invaluable bond of friendship for young Black girls navigating the world, can be powerfully conveyed through visual art. This early period of collaboration laid the groundwork for her distinctive approach to capturing authentic emotional narratives.
Embracing Ancestral Memory: The Profound Significance of Somatic Wisdom
Stevens' artistic philosophy is deeply rooted in what she describes as a profound yearning for ancestral remembrance. When asked about the most crucial aspects of Black women's ancestral knowledge to preserve, she points to the importance of somatic attunement and intuitive listening. She believes that incredible intelligence resides within our bodies—a living wisdom passed down through generations, felt in the heart, heard with the ears, and sensed in the gut. This deeply embodied knowledge, she argues, offers a vital counter-narrative to the increasingly digital nature of contemporary life. The movements of the body, from the warmth of hands tilling soil to the rhythm of dance, are not mere actions but rather historical narratives, expressions of catharsis, prayers, and blueprints of cultural continuity. The body itself becomes a potent vessel for memory, akin to words, photographs, and sculptures. Stevens views the reclamation of this bodily wisdom as a radical act of honoring ancestry and a pathway to a more embodied future.
Queer Kinship: A Radical Redefinition of Family and Belonging
Stevens elaborates on her reinterpretation of family through queer kinship, defining it as an inherently political and liberating endeavor, particularly for Black and Brown communities. This approach is a direct response to historical exclusion and the restrictive definitions of legitimacy and belonging imposed by dominant systems. For individuals whose identities have been marginalized, forging familial connections outside traditional frameworks is not merely a personal choice but a necessary strategy for survival and a powerful act of world-building. It represents a conscious move away from seeking validation from systems designed to exclude, towards actively constructing supportive networks of unwavering care, mutual assistance, and profound affirmation. This redefinition of family is about creating safety, dignity, and a lasting legacy in a world that often withholds these fundamental rights, ultimately embodying a radical exercise in freedom.
Connecting with Lineage: Honoring Past and Present Generations
Stevens feels immensely fortunate to have a tangible connection to her maternal lineage, with three generations—her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother—all residing in Queens, New York. Their presence serves as a constant reminder of the beauty of continuity, care, and the inherent strength woven into their everyday family life. While her father has passed and she has no personal memories of her paternal grandmother, the verbal recollections and photographs shared by her aunts on that side contribute to her sense of resilience and fuel her determination to preserve these enduring stories.
Future Horizons: Expanding Artistic Exploration Through Diverse Mediums
Looking ahead, Stevens is actively expanding her photographic series through a printmaking project, scheduled for a residency in November 2025. This new venture will explore how symbols and language can be integrated onto fabric, extending her core themes of memory, lineage, and care into a tactile form that resonates with the body and ancestral creative practices. Additionally, she is developing her work into a book, which will weave together images, written narratives, and archival materials. She finds the prospect of her project evolving into various formats—something that can be physically held, touched, and passed down—deeply exciting and meaningful.