The Visuals Series

An Introduction to the Visuals Series

by DESTIN BUNDU & SARAH GAUDRON

The Visuals Series is a home for Black student photographers, artists, and storytellers to thrive and be inspired by our unique Black community. Visuals uses photography to archive unique creative experiences that student artists cultivate. The Visuals Series hopes to be an archival space of Black beauty, euphoria, and excellence at UChicago, Hyde Park, and the city of Chicago. Visuals uses our creative team and programs like our artist-in-residence program to embark on a creative journey of writing, directing, and producing a complete editorial photo shoot. Visuals provides Black students and community members access to the creative process of taking ideas of creating art with a community and sharing thoughtful commentary through being in charge of a project’s execution. Mentorship is one way we make community pairing students with senior photographers within the student body and artists of color throughout Chicago. Visuals also provides students and community members with professional networking and mixing media art professional development. Within the last year, the visual series has been able to have three artists’ works published in magazines and one artist’s work showcased in a gallery. To interact with the greater Southside community, we have also established a partnership with the Bronzeville Youth Identity Collaborative to mentor high schoolers interested in photography or creative directing. The high school students assist Visuals members in planning and executing a photoshoot. They cultivate hard skills in handling photography equipment and editing software while getting hands-on experience in the creative process. The Visuals series holds community as a core value within its use of photography as a medium to hold the beauty of lived experiences within a moment. Visuals understand that art is resistance to what we won’t accept and appreciation of who we are and the gift we create. The Visuals Series is an art collective that works to empower the artistry and beauty of storytelling and visual arts of Black creatives.