The Iya (my mother) sessions 

Who: You and your mother/mother figure 

What: A photo and essay series of you and your  Iya (mother)/ Iya (mother) figure 

Why: When we see and think of Black mothers and daughters in TV or movies the relationship they have is often times more contentious than it is positive. Take a second and think about all the shows and movies you have seen that depict Black mother’s and their daughters. Now take those movies, and TV shows,and name one or two positive portrayals. Chances are you started with Claire Huxtable and stopped, that’s probably because for the most part that’s all we can remember, and that has to change. In January of 2018 I unexpectedly lost my mother and over that year as I poured over images of us together and thought about our relationship I really began to think about how it did not fit the narrative we often see. My mother and I were very close and she supported me in all I did. We shared more laughs and life changing conversations than we did a life steeped in tragedy or jealousy. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was not the only one who has a relationship like this with their mother/mother figure. It’s just that we don’t see it often and I want to change that. I want to tell the stories of adult Black women and their mothers/mother figures and share those stories with the world in a hope to add more to our portrayal than what we normally see.