ABOUT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Our Board of Directors is comprised of women and non-binary visual storytellers of color. As of now, the Authority Collective is completely volunteer-run and we are organizing in addition to our full-time work as editors, freelance visual storytellers, educators and consultants.

  • Tara Pixley

    Title
    Role
    Executive Director & Board Member
  • Bunni Elian

    Title
    Role
    Board Member
  • Danielle Villasana

    Title
    Role
    Board Member
  • Hannah Yoon

    Title
    Role
    Board Member
  • Ariel Zambelich

    Title
    Role
    Board Member

COMMUNITY DIRECTORS

  • Ashima Yadava

    Title
    Role
    Socials & Programming
  • Kat Contreras

    Title
    Role
    Tech & Infrastructure

MISSION

ACCESS

People of color — especially women, queer, trans, Black and indigenous people of color — are often blocked from job opportunities, professional relationships, and resources because of finances, harassment or discrimination.

Our goal is to remove barriers to access for BIPOC entering editorial, journalism, documentary, commercial and fine art careers. The Authority Collective connects our community members with job, mentorship, networking and professional development resources.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Token representation and half-hearted calls for “diversity” are not enough to solve equity problems within our industries. Continuing to hire disproportionately more white/cis-male/heterosexual lenses for stories about black, brown and other marginalized communities is not acceptable. It is crucial to take decision-makers and fellow storytellers to task when they perpetuate harmful narratives and stereotypes about marginalized groups.

The Authority Collective believes that ally-ship in visual media industries is more than merely recognizing privilege and voicing support — it's about harnessing that privilege to elevate underrepresented storytellers with direct action and funding.

We aim to shift the power dynamic in both traditional and independent media so that the stories we tell more accurately represent the diversity of our world. The Authority Collective will develop resources and training opportunities for industry leaders, decision-makers and colleagues on inclusion, accountability, impact and the implementation of anti-oppressive practices.

AUTHORITY

We are claiming our authority as people of color working in lens-based storytelling media. A white, cisgender, heteronormative, patriarchal lens dominates our world’s visual histories, and it is this same lens that determines access and success in many industries — including ours.

Through our public-facing resources, consulting services, and by elevating our community members to leadership roles within the industry, we are establishing our power to set standards that challenge colonial aesthetics, narratives and notions of success.

PRESS

  • AUTHORITY COLLECTIVE: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

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  • Five LGBTQIA+ art collectives to follow

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  • The Creative Collectives Finding Strength in Numbers

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  • Why Photographers Need Their Own Bill of Rights

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  • Behind the Lens with Authority Collective Photographers: images & reflections from the protests

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  • The Photo Bill of Rights: An Interview with Three Co-Authors | PetaPixel

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  • The Photo Bill of Rights

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  • PHOTOS: Despite War And Violence, Kids Still Find 'Moments Of Playfulness'

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  • Say their names: Protesters listen, answer roll call of dead victims of injustice

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  • Student journalist resources for covering protests safely and sensitively - Poynter

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  • We Need Documentarians of Color to Tell Their Own Stories

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  • Non-Black photographers need to step aside and let Black people tell their own stories. It's the most helpful thing they can do.

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  • New York Times: Photoville Is Coming to Los Angeles

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  • NYTimes LENS: “Women of Color Organize for Access and Accountability in Photojournalism”

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  • These Photographers Are Ensuring That Diversity Becomes More Than an Industry Trend

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  • Why Pigeonholing Limits Photo Industry Diversity - PDN Online

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  • This New Award Is Exactly What The Photo Industry Needs - Feature Shoot

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  • A New Wave of Social Networks Make Diverse Photographers More Visible

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  • Highlighting Freedom, Resilience and Diversity at Photoville in Brooklyn

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  • Feminist Magazine interview: Melissa Bunni Elian

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  • 15 Events Not to Miss at the 10th Anniversary Edition of MOPLA - Feature Shoot

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THE STORY OF AUTHORITY COLLECTIVE

In November 2017, a group of womxn and non-binary imagemakers of color — frustrated with racism and inequity in the visual media industry — met in Los Angeles, California, searching for community and solutions.

During this symposium, hosted by the Las Fotos Project space in LA, we asked: Who gets to tell and profit on the stories of marginalized people? Who decides who gets to be an “authority” in the photography industry? How do we establish ourselves as authorities? How do we get gatekeepers to interrogate their practices and push past basic conversations about “diversity”?

We wanted to create actionable solutions for ourselves and industry leaders, to create a culture of accessibility, transparency, accountability. From that, created the Authority Collective — to support each other as we navigate the world of visual media and to challenge harmful narratives perpetuated by inequities in our industry.