Ayana V. Jackson

[3] In 2005, at the invitation of professor Katharina Sieverding, she studied critical theory and large-format printing at Berlin University of the Arts and continued her training at a series of photography residencies including the Bakery Photographic Collective and Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, France.

Her photographic series "Full Circle: A Survey of Hip Hop in Ghana," "Viajes Personales," and "African by Legacy, Mexican by Birth" have been exhibited in association with Gallery MOMO (Johannesburg, RSA), Rush Arts Gallery (US), A Gathering of the Tribes (US), Galerie Peter Herrmann (Germany), Mexican Museum (US) the Franklin H. Williams CCC/African Diaspora Institute (US) and Culturesfrance (FR), the US State Department and the World Bank.

[6] Her photography can be found in publications including the exhibition catalogue for her series "African by Legacy, Mexican by Birth,"[7] "Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society" (Columbia University),[8] Camera Austria, and the New York Times blog called Lens.

She reveals to us- through examination of musicians and industry professionals- that an ostensibly lucrative western model has swayed the creation of Hip Life.

The exhibition actively speaks to the spirit of the maroon Yanga of Mexico who valiantly fought for the liberation of his people and assured the continuing presence of Afro Mexicans as an integral part of our African legacy in the Americas.

Selections from "African By Legacy, Mexican by Birth" were presented throughout Latin America in venues such as Altos de Chavon, La Romana, Dominican Republic; La Fe Theater, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Universidad Autonomia de Nicaragua and the Colsubsidio, Bogota, Colombia.