Alexis Hunley

@byalexishunley

freelance photographer 📍los angeles, ca 📧 [email protected]
Posts
175
Followers
19.3k
Following
2,952
Join us in congratulating this year's Adult Advocacy Award recipient, Alexis Hunley! Recognizing Alexis's advocacy work and commitment to celebrating the "beauty and complexity of the human experience."    "Dear Crenshaw project is powerful!" ⁠- Adult Award Nominator about Alexis's Project - ⁠ LEARN ABOUT ALEXIS - ⁠ "Based in Los Angeles, California, Alexis Hunley is a photographer whose art centers on the intersectional experiences of underrepresented communities. She views each opportunity to create as a collaboration that can only truly prosper with trust, care, compassion, and integrity. With a focus on deep exploration of vulnerability and emotional connection, Hunley encourages audiences to embrace their authentic selves and delve into the depths of their own experiences. Her life long goal is to create work that celebrates the beauty and complexity of the human experience." ⁠ ****** CELEBRATE WITH US ******⁠ ⁠ Come see Alexis's work, alongside the work of all other adult and youth awardees & silent auction photographers, at our 5th Annual The Foto Awards. The Foto Awards recognizes innovative women and gender-expansive people changing the photo industry worldwide! Food, music, art, and of course, some dope artists! Support us and get your tickets at /thefotoawards! ⁠ ⁠ #lasfotosproject⁠ #TheFotoAwards⁠ #TFA
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6 months ago
I have learned many times throughout my career that courage is often the most important prerequisite to freedom and as I piece together the story of my grandmother’s life that becomes even more clear. I would not be here if she had not taken the leap of faith to pack up her 2 young children and move across the country from Brooklyn, NY to Los Angeles, CA. I may not be this version of myself if she hadn’t pursued and practiced her craft as a documentarian / an archivist / a photographer / a painter / a seamstress / an artist while working and being a homemaker. Those initial steps she took opened the road and cleared the way for me to run full speed. To be free 💐
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11 months ago
Happy #World PhotographyDay! 📸 Two of my biggest goals came true … finally got to see my work on a billboard AND shot key art! But more than those two things, this is work that I am so proud of 💙 I am so grateful to have shot the key art for @issaraepresents new show @sweetlifeonmax ! Working with the cast was a dream - by far the best group I’ve had the pleasure of working with thus far. As their show premieres today, I’m sending them good vibes as I get ready to go check out the first few episodes! And of course shoutout to my crew that always holds me down @mariatroncosogibbs and @gangganggenghis
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2 years ago
Tending to my late grandmothers archive has been the greatest gift. And while it’s been quite the undertaking, I feel honored and privileged to be responsible for the preservation and continuation of her legacy. Call Me ZZ is a project that explores our connection across time through her artistry and extensive family archive. I’ll share updates and my archival process with y’all via my newsletter on @substack “Call Me ZZ” (link in bio). Expect lots of laughs, maybe a tear or 2, and plenty of footage of 3 year old Alexis 💙
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24 days ago
Over the past few weeks, I had the pleasure of spending time with @lorealparis ‘s 2023 Women of Worth honorees. Congratulations to all the honorees and to those that I was able to commune with, thank you for making my time on the road so fulfilling! ✨ honorees: @16strongproject @kitstoheart @yeswecanwf @twilight_wish @free_2_luv photo assist: @iambrimonet
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7 months ago
To be able to step back in time and witness my grandmother’s creative process is a gift I don’t take for granted. I can’t help but wonder sometimes what it would be like to have her here in this realm with me. What would she think of where I am and what I’ve been creating? #FineArt #BlackFemalePhotographer #BlackArchivist #FamilyHistory #FineArtPhotography #BlackHistory
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9 months ago
2020 feels like a fever dream. a wrinkle in the fabric of time and space where many non-Black folks were…open? Listening & Learning? watching? I’m not quite sure what to call it. And I never felt compelled to name it because it always felt Fleeting, with one foot already out the door. “Seeing & Being Seen” is an invitation to my non-Black viewers to reflect on their relationships with privilege, power, violence, and anti-Blackness in the wake of the 2020 uprisings. Set to an excerpt from Susan Sontag’s book “Regarding the Pain of Others”, this piece is quite special to me because it has afforded me the opportunity to validate my own experience and the many feelings that arose throughout my time documenting the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. Photography @byalexishunley Edited by @mobius__e
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10 months ago
We’ve come a long way since I started tending to my grandmother’s archive. Last fall I set up shop in my garage and for hours each day I would sort through box after box of prints, loose negatives, VHS tapes, documents, slides, and miscellaneous artifacts from the last several decades. Slowly developing a system for cleaning, digitizing, cataloging, and storing the thousands of items I now have in my care. There has definitely been a learning curve as I’ve been building out my process but I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything. #FineArt #BlackFemalePhotographer #BlackArchivist #FamilyHistory #FineArtPhotography #BlackHistory
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11 months ago
So grateful that an image from my project, The Club Nobody Wants to Join, was chosen this year by AI-AP! Thank you to @american_photography_winners and the wonderful panel of judges that viewed my work. As we move deeper into 2023, I’ll be sharing more images from this project so stay tuned ✨ The Club Nobody Wants To Join is a project that explores the terrifying reality that many Black Americans grapple with on a regular basis: navigating life after a loved one is killed by the police. We see the statistics and scroll past the names turned to hashtags but what happens when the public outrage subsides and attention fades away?  This project moves away from a voyeuristic engagement with trauma and provides an opportunity for us all to analyze our own relationships with the complex nature of grief. #AP39 #AmericanPhotographyWinners #AIAP #TheClubNobodyWantsToJoin #DocumentaryPhotographer #BlackFemalePhotographer #AdobeLightroomClassic #Canon
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11 months ago
I am still so fulfilled and grateful after spending time with each of these wonderful women — learning about them, the spaces they created, and the work they do for the community. To witness the care and intentionality each of them bring to their spaces was so nourishing and affirming. Take a moment and read the beautifully worded piece by @theunsungstoryteller for @laistofficial that dives into the importance of these literary spaces that offer so much more than books. photos @byalexishunley words @theunsungstoryteller featured @nonamereads @reparations.club @thesalteaters @octavias_bookshelf
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11 months ago
to be able to step back in time and revisit a moment I’ve only ever been told about or seen in photographs is such a surreal experience. watching this teeny tiny version of me has been profoundly healing. through the archives built by my grandmother and my parents I have learned so much not just about our family but also about myself - who I was, who I’ve always been, and who I’m growing into. #FineArt #BlackFemalePhotographer #BlackArchivist #FamilyHistory #FineArtPhotography #BlackHistory
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11 months ago
kenady: “if you could do anything over again, what would it be?” geraldine/jeri/zz: “live longer as an independent unmarried person…achieve more career wise” my grandmother described herself later in that interview as “grateful” and “happy to have a beautiful, healthy, and supportive family.” As I delve deeper into her story I find myself often wondering how different her world would have been if she had been supported in pursuing her creative passion and talents - if others had made sacrifices so that she could dream big and run full speed.
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11 months ago