Black Paris Profiles™: Kim Powell – Part 1

A while back, I published a Facebook posting about a photo shoot that I had with Kim Powell. We wended our way from the Luxembourg Garden to the Odéon area via Saint-Sulpice Church, and had a great time along the way. In the posting, I indicated that Kim is working on a book project that I am thrilled to be a part of, and that more details about the project were soon to come. Just keep reading, and you’ll find them below! You’ll also find out a lot more about this beautiful, talented woman who calls both Paris and Connecticut home. Part 1 of a two-part interview follows.


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Kim Powell
Photo courtesy of Kim Powell
You are currently working on a photography book about African Americans in Paris. How did this come about?

Over the years, I have been asked to collaborate on number of projects related to African-American life in Paris: as a photographer, lecturer, and or tour guide. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with both American and French university and high school students about my life journey and Paris. Recently I was asked by a group of French students what it felt like to be a living part of the African-American legacy. In all honesty, I hadn’t looked at my life from that perspective.

In a recent NY Times article “A Paris Farewell,” Amy M. Thomas wrote that “to some extent Paris will always belong to the Truffauts, Fitzgeralds, and Bernhardts of the world. But now some of my own history runs through its streets too.” This struck a chord with me. My history runs through these streets as well. I kept thinking: what about Henry Tanner, Josephine, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, or any of the others! I realized there were even more stories to be told. I’m not a writer or a scholar but I still wanted to share these stories in my way, which is through photography.

What is your vision for this project?

This project is a visual history of people who live or have lived in Paris since WWII to the present. I want to document, preserve and exhibit this piece of history as a way to educate and preserve our legacy as seen through the eyes of African Americans, but presented in a way that can relate to everyone. The stories will show diversity in all ways (age, profession, education, and lifestyle) through archival images, contemporary portraits, and narratives.

For me, it's all about paying it forward.

How is it advancing?

I’ve been steadily photographing and interviewing folks on both sides of the Atlantic.

What is your opinion about the rapid shift in publishing that now favors electronic media over print publications?

It’s a bit overwhelming. It’s frightening for someone like me, who is a lover of art books and glossy magazines. However, I am also a gadget person, and there’s something to be said about not being loaded down with 5 books and 10 magazines when traveling.

In your opinion, what does this mean for books that feature photographs?

I am a traditionalist in that I find it most enjoyable to hold a book in my hand and flip through glossy pages, yet I obviously see the cost advantage to the digital age. I think if the industry can find a way to support all publication mediums for photographers without annihilating the print aspect, then it would be wonderful.

A few years ago, you traveled to Sri Lanka, and your experience there changed your life. You have returned since then. Please tell us what these visits have meant to you.

Kim Powell (left) and novice Sri Lankan monks
Photo courtesy of Kim Powell

When I originally went to Sri Lanka for a commercial job, I had no idea that the trip would be about the discovery of my own artistic and philosophical journey. When I stepped off the plane, I sensed something familiar. As time went on I came to realize that Sri Lanka was not simply familiar. I felt as if I belonged there.

When my professional obligations were completed, I set out on a 4-day tour to see as much of the country as possible. The feelings of joy and serenity never waned; I became more and more at peace. I wanted to document not only the physical environment, but also my emotional connection to this place and its people through color, texture, and movement— just as I had done as a child attracted by vivid colors and sensational landscapes.

The country has an exquisite natural beauty and the people are proud and humble. Having been raised in a family of ministers, the deeply rooted traditions and beliefs of the Sri Lankan people spoke to my spirituality as well.

I have returned to Sri Lanka several times since that first trip. It is now a part of me.

Your first trip to Sri Lanka resulted in a solo photo exhibition at the Mona Bismarck Foundation in 2008-2009. Where else has this expo been shown?

Since then, the Serendipity exhibition travelled to Sri Lanka. In Paris the work was shown as an installation, creating a different experience in each room to give the visitor a sense of the voyage. In Colombo (the largest city in Sri Lanka), the work was shown in a traditional gallery setting. It had to be redesigned for that space and there was a considerable amount of preparation and travel necessary.

What other photography projects are you working on at present?

I am currently working on a project related to urban youth culture in and around Paris. In general though, I don’t think in terms of specific projects. I am never without a camera, and would say that I shoot almost daily without considering the eventual use of the images.

If you could photograph one person, place or object above all other things, what would it be and why?

I would've liked to have photographed Gordon Parks. I did have the opportunity to meet him ever so briefly. I remember his photos from the LIFE magazines that my father collected when I was a child. But it is his later work from "Arias in Silence" and "Glimpses toward Infinity" that appeal to my aesthetic of producing painterly still life images. The cover image from “Arias in Silence” is one of my favorites. He was so chic . . . I loved his look. As my Dad would've said, he seemed to be "one cool cat."

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