OkEq features award-winning artist Kendall Brown
Staff Report
(TULSA, OK) Oklahomans for Equality “First Thursday” Art Opening and Exhibit hosts another amazing artist this month. January’s feature will be the photography of lauded artist and photo journalist, Kendall Brown, beginning with a reception on Thursday, January 3rd from 6-9pm and will continue throughout the month.
Kendall Brown is a documentary photographer and journalist who focuses on human rights issues, both domestically and abroad. Her photography and writing has been in multiple publications and has won awards such as the Oklahoma Press Association Column Award, the Helen Mossman Writing Award and two Creative Projects Grant Awards from the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.
The artist recently accepted a position as the Executive Director of the Individual Artists of Oklahoma (IAO) Gallery. On her Dec. 10th blog entry she writes, “I have been in my brand new, amazing position for about two months now, and it's such an amazing fit. It really is my dream job.”
Brown recently began work on her upcoming documentary project - focusing on the issue of federal food benefits.
Her previous long-term documentary projects include documenting the Kenyan post-election violence and its impact on village children from 2007 to 2009 to documenting the lives of Oklahoma residents living with HIV/AIDS in 2010. In 2012, she documented the life of a young Down Syndrome patient on her way to heart surgery.
Brown attended the University of Oklahoma, where she studied both photography and journalism. She lives in Norman, OK with her fiancé, Levi Lee, and prior to her position with IAO, has also worked as a freelance photographer and journalist.
The OkEq show begins with a reception on Thursday, Jan 3rd, from 6-9pm at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, located at 621 E. 4th Street in Downtown Tulsa. There will be a door prize drawn of the artist’s work; the show continues throughout the month. www.okeq.org.
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Founded by a dedicated group of volunteers in 1980, Oklahomans for Equality/OkEq is Oklahoma’s oldest gay rights organization. From testing for HIV/AIDS and hosting the annual Tulsa Pride and Diversity Celebration to operating the Equality Center and documenting the Tulsa LGBT community’s rich history, OkEq works for social justice and full inclusion for Oklahoma’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens and their allies.