Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe by Kalia Brooks

In 2013, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe sat down with Kalia Brooks from BOMB Magazine‘s Oral History Project, which is dedicated to collecting, developing, and preserving the stories of distinguished visual artists of the African Diaspora. Below are a few quotes:

I feel that what I do has to have purpose and meaning. To me, photographs are autobiographical. They tell stories about where you are at different times in your life, and everything connects to me from an experience that I’ve had.” —Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe

“The focus on life, and the sustainability of life, and the embodiment of creativity, and of whatever that force is that prevails in spite of or amongst other derogatory forces. The power of the melanated body.”  —Kalia Brooks

We need to show young people today that, to use Arthur’s quote, “Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.” And that is the philosophy that we try to put out for kids to understand—that no matter where you come from or your circumstances, you can make a difference in transforming not just your neighborhood but your own home. You just start with yourself. It’s a very Buddhist philosophy; it’s a very African American philosophy.” —Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe

You can read the full interview published in 2014 in BOMB Magazine here.