OPEN STU

Open Stu is a living documentary project that began in 2019. It is a space created to cultivate and document Durham’s creative community. We center documenting experiences of Black folks and all of their intersections. The initial offerings of Open Stu was inspired by Harlem Renaissance era pop-up events of Carl Van Vechten, the Studio portrait practice of Addison N. Scurlock of Washington DC, the work of Kamoinge Collective in Brooklyn and others.

In addition to the photographs taken and the space created, we are inviting our creative community into the process of documenting and storytelling. We facilitate an archive station where attendees can scan current prints and print digital images of their own communities, families, etc. 

Lastly, attendees are able to explore the Maroon Archive. This is a collection of books, texts and Black ephemera exploring diasporic realities from fugitivity to futurism, curated by Marcella Zigbuo Camara.

Below is an incomplete selection of flyers and galleries from past Open Stu’s. The full archive of Open Stu portraits is forthcoming, but for now check out the images from the most recent edition at the Nasher Museum of Art in December 2023.