Letitia Huckaby

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Born
Carita Letitia Jenkins

1972 (age 5354)
KnownforPhotography
Carita Letitia Huckaby
Born
Carita Letitia Jenkins

1972 (age 5354)
EducationUniversity of Oklahoma
Alma materUniversity of North Texas
Known forPhotography
Websitewww.letitiahuckaby.com

Carita Letitia Huckaby (née Jenkins, born 1972) is an American photographer who creates multimedia artwork combining photography and textiles to depict both family narratives and African American history.[1]

Before beginning her career as an artist, Huckaby's journey with the arts began in the form of ballet. She was selected to take part in the Oklahoma Summers Arts Institute in 1988 and 1989, where she studied modern dance at Quarts Mountain under the tutelage of Pat Catterson. This is where she was first exposed to photography as an art form, and she was instantly enamored with it. Her parents were less enthused about her prospective career in photography, so she studied journalism with a focus on advertising at the University of Oklahoma.[2]

Huckaby earned a degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma in 1994, after which she took the position of Promotions Coordinator at a radio station in Lawton, Oklahoma. During this time, she studied at a vocational academy, intent on making photography a hobby. She was then invited by the Oklahoma Arts Institute to assist their Public Relations department, where she had the opportunity to visit the photography exhibit Christopher James, an internationally known photographer. Huckaby was taken with his work, particularly his piece Dying Man, and was so moved by it that she decided to return to school and earned a BFA focusing on art photography from the Art Institute of Boston in 2001.[2]

During her time in Boston, she discovered her calling in documentary photography. She documented a dance studio that offered free classes to inner-city children, a historic jazz club called Wally's that was part of the Chitlin' Circuit, backstage at Bobbi Brown cosmetics shows, helping a photographer at a Bishop Desmond Tutu wedding, and honing her craft by using street photography to capture city life. She staged her first show, began working as a photographer, and was the recipient of multiple awards and scholarships.[2]

After earning her degree in Boston, she moved back south to be closer to her family. Her career as a freelance journalist for newspapers and school systems began when she settled in the Dallas/Fort Worth region, where she photographed babies, sports, and weddings.[2] She married painter Sedrick Huckaby,[3] had her first child, and lost her father. After this, Huckaby returned to the University of North Texas, where she earned an MFA in photography in 2010.[4][2]

Career

References

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