Laylah Amatullah Barrayn

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn

American documentary photographer

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn is an award-winning documentary and portrait photographer who has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and featured in The New York Times, National Geographic and Vogue to name a few. Growing up, Laylah saw photography as a way of preserving memory and a tool for witnessing and proof.

Her photography often captures moments of social change and resistance and is focused on giving visibility to people of colour who are often overlooked by white photojournalists. She has been working in the medium for 20 years and is a member of the Kamoinge Workshop. 

Recent solo exhibitions include We Are Present at the 2020 Photoville Festival in Brooklyn, New York and Baye Fall: Roots in Spirituality, Fashion, and Resistance at the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco CA.

Co-author of MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora, which was published in 2018, Laylah is currently working on a book of portraits and stories of about 50 contemporary Black photographers. The book is due to be published in 2022.