The Daufuskie Island Project will elevate the story and raise awareness about the Gullah community and its contributions to American history using a multi-pronged approach. The limited edition portfolio, Daufuskie Island, is a collection of fifteen black and white pigment print photographs originally taken more than twenty-five years ago. The images include portraits of residents, home interiors, landscapes, and still life’s of objects, which together seek to convey a holistic impression of Gullah culture at the time.

The intention is to situate these portfolios in the collections of historically Black colleges, institutions, libraries or museums, where they can serve a larger population as a public resource. World renowned photographer and author of the 25th Anniversary Edition of Daufuskie Island: Photographs; Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe is considering making arrangements to lecture or visit the places where the portfolios end up housed to raise awareness about the contents. She will create new video montages using the images and incorporating new footage, both of her own remembrances and of people from the island as to supplement the portfolio and lectures and to help create a digital presence. Additionally, she is in the early stages of creating an interpretive performance about Daufuskie Island.

Lastly, the project will require a place online to specifically house these endeavors and information about them. The website for the Daufuskie Island project, and accompanying social media accounts, will be an important avenue for disseminating the video montages, information about performances or other events and educating visitors. Some of the proceeds from the project will support a need-based scholarship for Gullah descendants called the Daufuskie Island Gullah Scholarship Fund (DIGS).

Project Director/Producer | Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe