Robin North
(he/him)
Faculty Fellow-Photography
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FCVA 107
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509-526-4708
Robin North is an interdisciplinary visual artist and educator who grew up in the Texas rural deep south approximately 100 miles southwest of Houston, Texas, along the Gulf Coast. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography & Digital Media from the University of Houston and a Master of Fine Arts in Art with a concentration in Photography & Multimedia from San Diego State University. He is recognized for his innovative approach to photography and related media. North’s artistic practice spans range of media, including photography, 19th-century photographic print processes, installation, time-based media, experimental narratives, and mixed and digital media to photographic archives and research. North, with a particular emphasis on the African Diaspora and African American historical narratives, critically examines how photography has historically been used to undermine Black representation and reinforce racial inferiority. North’s exploration of the intersections between photography, history, and systemic racism provides a nuanced understanding of their impact on African Diasporic experiences across different historical periods.
Before transitioning to a career in visual art and education, North spent nearly twenty years as a corporate executive and small business owner. A significant turning point came in 2016 with the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in his uncle and father figure, James North—a Vietnam War veteran exposed to Agent Orange. This personal and familial challenge led North to shift from the corporate world to full-time visual art, with a focus on preserving and celebrating the histories of Black families in the rural Deep South.
As an educator, Professor North integrates his artistic insights and the philosophy of Paideia, as described by W.E.B. Du Bois in The Souls of Black Folk, into his teaching methodology. He encourages students to go beyond technical proficiency and engage deeply with the socio-cultural implications of their work. North’s pedagogy emphasizes the power of visual storytelling as a means of artistic expression, representation, resistance, and communication. He fosters creativity, critical thinking, and a nuanced understanding of visual language, guiding students to convey the complexities of the world through their own self-expression. This approach empowers students to explore and articulate their personal perspectives visually, reflecting a deep engagement with both their own experiences and broader societal narratives.
Areas of Expertise/Interest
Photography, Dark Room, Alternative Photographic Processes, Video Art, Sound Art, 19 th-century Print Processes, Mixed & Digital Media, Multimedia Art, Visual Storytelling, African Diaspora Visual Studies, Global History of Photography, Decolonization in Visual Art Practices, Archival Research, Critical Theory, Artistic Expression
M.F.A. in Art
San Diego State University
May 2024
B.F.A. Photography & Digital Media
University of Houston
May 2021
Robin North’s research investigates how digital repositories of photographs and digital media documenting African diasporic family history in the deep rural South can challenge dominant narratives, decolonize knowledge, and empower marginalized communities. He explores the potential of such a repository to reshape understandings of race, representation, and critical practice, drawing upon the theoretical frameworks of bell hooks and Paul Gilroy. Specifically, he is interested in bell hooks’ concept of art as a tool for critical engagement and liberation, particularly relevant for Southern Black communities, and Paul Gilroy’s framework of the Black Atlantic to uncover how the repository facilitates transnational connections, emphasizing shared experiences and cultural exchanges among African diasporic communities on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. His research also examines the ways in which visual arts can be used to preserve, transmit, and reimagine black cultural memory.
As a visual artist and founder of The Keeper of the Walls - A Digital Humanities Repository of Contemporary Black Family Archives in the Deep South, his creative practice employs visual anthropology and grounded theory to construct a comprehensive visual database that makes visible the hidden stories and alternative narratives of these communities, utilizing the power of visual storytelling. Through this work, he aims to contribute to the reshaping of knowledge, education, and decolonization efforts, and specifically questions how visual art can serve as a form of resistance and refusal, preserving and celebrating the stories of contemporary Black families in the deep rural South.
2024 Medium Photo Presents: Hale County This Morning, This Evening In Conversation w/Robin North, Digital Gym Cinema, San Diego, CA
2024 Society for Photographic Education Annual Conference
Visualizing Resistance: Decolonized Aesthetics and Subverting Dominant Narratives
2024 S3 Symposium, San Diego State
Visualizing Resistance: Decolonized Aesthetics and Subverting Dominant Narratives
2024 Afroture: I See You, Community Dialogue Panel, San Diego City College
Decolonizing Photography
2024 Rewoven Narratives, Artproduce
San Diego, CA
2024 Keeper of The Walls, Everett Jackson Gallery
School of Art + Design – San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
2024 Afroture: I See You: Beauty Through The Black Lens
Luxe Gallery, San Diego City College
2023 Center Forward
Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
2023 40th Center Annual
Houston Center for Photography, Houston TX
2023 UnBound12!
Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA
2023 Black Artist Exhibition
Luxe Gallery, San Diego, CA
2023 Size Matters
Mesa College Art Gallery, San Diego, CA
2023 Houston Center for Photography
Beth Block Honorarium Online
2023 Medium Photo Black Artist Scholarship
In Conversation Online
2021 Coupa Software, Inc. – Coupa Engage Diversity and Inclusion Community
The Visible Language of Bias Online
Awards
2021-2024 Presidential Research Fellowship
San Diego State University Research Foundation
2024 Outstanding Graduate Student
College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
2023 The Prebys Creative and Performing Arts Endowed Scholarship
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
2023 Beth Block Honorarium
Houston Center for Photography, Houston, Texas
2023 Black Artist Scholarship Award
Medium Photo, San Diego, CA
2022 Scott Guhin Endowed Scholarship Award
San Diego State University
2022 Thomas Flaxman Endowed Art Award
Hewlett Packard Foundation
2021 Louis Fields Memorial Scholarship Award
Society of Photographic Education
2021 CITE FotoFest I Scholarship Award
FotoFest, Houston, TX
2021 CITE FotoFest Merit Award
FotoFest, Houston, TX