Author: Gbemisola

For my video project I would like to interview a man who served 5 years in prison. While the subject of his conviction will be mentioned, I hope to get his view on what led him to a life in the streets and get his take on black masculinity: what it means and what he views his role as a man to be in regards to his community, his upbringing, and from society as a whole. This weekend I’ll be attending a photo exhibition in Philadelphia that is showcasing photos of the variety of ‘black man’ taken by black female photographers. I will use footage from the event for imagery and to give the story dimension.

Pitch 1: I would like to interview 3 women in different age groups (18-25) (25-35) (35-45). There is much talk about the obstacles in dating among us all. With advances in technology, among other things, the “old” or “chivalrous” ways of courting seem to be less expected or even necessary. I hope to hear of the expectations and experiences in a way that I can compare and contrast why things ‘are how they are’.

Pitch 2: The Babalowo that I met while following my friend seems like such an interesting person. He is somewhere between Nigeria and New York, navigating both spaces as a ‘resident’ hereby being a full part of both cultures. I would love to speak with him about carrying his tradition here and what the experience is like dealing with non natives to Yoruba who are assimilating to his culture.

https://weifadifferently.exposure.co/we-ifa-differently?source=share-weifadifferently

For this project, I would love to tell the story of what it is like to practice African Spirituality here in NYC. My best friend is an Ifa priestess. Ifa is an ancient oral Yoruba tradition of West Africa. While she is an Ifa priestess,  she isn’t a native of a West African country. She comes from Trinidad and lives in Far Rockaway. Practicing Ifa in the states while trying to maintain African authenticity is a viewpoint I would love to capture. African spirituality in the diaspora has until recent years been a very private thing. I am not sure what ‘in the water’ is different now, but a lot of young blacks are leaving western religion and returning to the spirituality they relate to from an ancestral viewpoint. The changes are met with realities of the difference between here and there.

 

The images I hope to capture are of her everyday dealings. Ifa is a lifestyle so I will be sure to look for African art or artifacts, tools used, images of any festivities, and her dealing with clients who come to her for spiritual services. I also hope to use the lens to demystify the assumptions of what African spirituality is or isn’t. In addition to what Ifa looks like, or is, I hope to capture the normalcy in her life as a mom, Phd candidate, and regular degular schmegular NYer.