JOMO KENYATTA

Jomo Kenyatta, named after Kenya ’s first president, is a professional photographer who has received critical acclaim for his work focused on the Caribbean Region. A passion developed in his youth, Kenyatta has over 20 years of photographic experience. Kenyatta studied at Kean University in Union NJ , and then furthered his photographic interests at Northern Virginia Community College in Arlington , VA. Mr. Kenyatta has gained a significant following by exhibiting his work, giving lectures and conducting workshops throughout the northeast region of the U.S. He is the visionary and founder of The Caribbean Unseen, a project that highlights and preserves rarely seen and uncommon aspects of Caribbean History, Geography, Culture and Lifestyle. The CU project had its debut at the Consulate of Jamaica in February 2002 in Manhattan , NY . The next stage, The Caribbean Unseen “Preview”, will launch in the spring of 2010  in Manhattan , New York , tour major cities in the U.S. and eventually tour internationally. (For more info visit www.caribbeanunseen.com)  

Kenyatta, whose heritage can be traced to Barbados was born in New Jersey and first became intrigued with photography while attending Junior High School in South Orange , NJ .  He attributes his initial interest as a combination of passion and practicality. He often tells this interesting and true story of the time he told his mother that he wanted to take some pictures at his middle school graduation in South Orange , NJ . He recalls his ultimate objective was to get pictures of Valerie, a pretty girl who was relocating to another state. His mother while in Valerie's presence told Jomo that she forgot how to operate the infamous Minolta SRT 101. After some fiddling around with the camera she directs him to what she thinks is the shutter, but Jomo says he later found it was actually the aperture preview button. To add insult to injury, when Jomo requested that the perceived images be taken to get developed, his mother accidentally exposed the film. From that day forward he promised himself that he would never ask his mother anything pertaining to the operation of a camera again. So his quest began…..  

Jomo Kenyatta is also the organizer of the CPC – Caribbean Photo Contest, which provides prizes, including scholarships to budding college photographers. His reasons for starting the contest are two-fold. First, he wanted to provide an opportunity for students, interested in photography, to enhance their abilities through workshops. Secondly, he wanted to introduce people to the hidden beauty and distinctly unique experiences within the Caribbean region that are rarely observed from the typical resort vacation.

View Jomo Kenyatta's Resume