Nitashia Johnson: The Beauty of South Dallas
“Hello, my name is Nitashia Johnson. I am a Nigerian-American, multimedia artist and educator from Dallas, Texas, who truly has a passion for creating. I attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts from 2004-2008. I became an alum of Texas Woman’s University in 2012 and the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. One of my latest projects The Beauty of South Dallas is a project that captures the rapid change of a historical neighborhood due to socio-economic shifts, creating a document of South Dallas for future residents, visionaries, and developers.” -NJ
RR: Hello Nitashia. Glad to have a chance to talk about your work and process. Tell us a little about your journey, photography, life.
NJ: To be honest my life is a combination of all the help others gave me when things were hard. There are so many good entities out there that mean well to help redirect the bad. Going through things increased my wisdom and ability to see the beauty in everything around me. This also helps my photographic-eye. My life is a representation of the things set in place to shape me. My journey hasn’t been easy but it has been very meaningful because of the love that surrounded me. Over the years I grew a bit more wise the more I experienced, and the more I experienced the more my creativity became my light. It is the light I use to shine on others. My photography will always be used to bring a bit of peace to such an unknown world. We all need a little because creating, no matter the skill level, can bring us a bit of peace.
RR: A project you have going right now is The Beauty of South Dallas encompassing people, places and the community of the South Dallas area. What were some of the initial motives for this undertaking?
NJ: John Spriggins at the South Dallas Cultural Center reached out to me about the Juanita J Craft Civil Rights House artist residency. It was super exciting because I learned that I would be the inaugural artist for such an amazing opportunity. His request to document the area of South Dallas not only helped me capture the spaces but moved me to capture the voices of the community and some pretty rad people. What’s super amazing was that I had the chance to document Pearl C. Anderson in South Dallas. I went to that school during half of my 7th and my entire 8th grade year. My life up until that point shifted so much and that is where I met an amazing art teacher that helped water the creative seed my mom planted in me when she was in my life. The beauty of South Dallas is something amazing because it is a reminder of the trials of history and the things people need to thrive. South Dallas is important and it was important to shine light on the area.
RR: What kind of stories have you been able to discover?
NJ: I’ve really just been able to experience the wisdom of so many people. Just the opportunity to talk to people in the area was so amazing. There are so many personalities and faces. It was all love man. All love.
RR: I know one of many themes you work with is preservation and using your work to preserve these places before they are changed by our social, political and economic landscape. What are your thoughts on the power of a photograph to preserve?
NJ: Photography reveals and provides evidence of those just as important as anyone else. It gets people talking. It helps people remember and it directs the course of history. Photography is love wrapped in a box. I’m happy I’ve been able to use my work to make a difference and just to meet some pretty amazing people.
RR: Your other work The Self-Publication is another form of using photography as a storytelling tool. Could you talk about the themes surrounding this work.
NJ: Yeah, man I love this body of work. It’s about my people. It helps me connect with like-minded people in the Black community so we can work to help “US” heal. It works to fight against the negative stereotypes out there about our cultural group. It works to show people how amazing they are and allows others to relate apon similar issues. It’s something that helped me learn about myself, our history, and ways we can all help. Unity is in the mind and if people really understood the power inside of them self-love would come easy.
RR: What is your process like when you photograph portraits of people?
NJ: We just talk, you know. I know getting to know people. The photos are just evidence of the bond we are creating while conversing.
RR: This is Volume 3 of the Self-Publication. Does the process change as you move forward with this work and self publishing your work?
NJ: It gets better. I learn and revise. I cry too, haha. It’s not an easy project but it’s needed. I learn more about myself as a multimedia artist. When working on this, it can be much because I do everything alone as far as the book design, editing, photography, people-sourcing, and so on but man it’s so freaking worth it. The goal is to make an impact no matter how big or small. I just want to show people they matter because they do.
RR: Are you currently working on any other projects?
NJ: I’m working on my non-profit The Smart Project with a small team of women and my photographic thesis project surrounding mother earth. I promise I’m taking it easy. I might seem busy but creating doesn't feel like it. To all those who love me, I’m relaxing. They get on me all the time about that, lol.
RR: Thank you so much Nitashia!
NJ: No problem. I think you are dope AF. Thanks for the work that you do and ya know, have a cookie, those things are amazing. Hugs and stay fire.
The Beauty of South Dallas is on display at the
South Dallas Cultural Center from Feb 11th - March 19th, 2022