Established in July 2020 by Polly Irungu, Black Women Photographers (BWP) is a global community, directory, and hub of over 2,100 Black creatives, spanning over 60+ countries and 35+ U.S. states. BWP was launched with a $14,500 COVID-19 relief fund to help Black women photographers who were in dire need of financial relief due to the pandemic. To date, BWP has provided over $150,000 in financial grants to Black creatives, plus brand new mirrorless Nikon gear.

Black Women Photographers is a home for Black women to receive proper recognition, and most importantly, get hired. Dedicated to providing a resource for the industry’s gatekeepers, BWP supports its members through promoting their work in an active database distributed to brands, photo editors, directors, curators, and art buyers.

The collective also offers FREE educational resources such as regular programming of webinars, workshops, trainings, meet ups, and portfolio reviews. Through conversation, workshops, educational resources, virtual and in-person events, as well as an annual $50K grant fund and an active directory of visual artists available for hire, BWP is committed to providing a home for Black women and non-binary artists with the aim to increase access to professional and paid opportunities for Black creatives around the world.