Mikki Ferrill: A Closer Look
Learn about Black culture on Chicago’s South Side in the 1970s through Mikki Ferrill’s photographic project, The Garage (1970–80).
“The event was a word-of-mouth happening. The people, the music, and just the atmosphere became my spiritual inspiration. They called me ‘The Picture-Taking Lady.’ I covered the walls of the Garage with pictures of themselves.”
—Mikki Ferrill
Born in 1937, Valeria “Mikki” Ferrill was part of the Black Arts Movement, a group of Black artists, musicians, dancers, and poets who were inspired by the Black Power Movement. They proudly created Black art and built cultural organizations that would empower Black communities. One of the few professional Black women photographers in Chicago in the 1970s, Ferrill worked for Black-owned publications like Ebony, Downbeat, and The Chicago Defender.
This resource is made possible through the generous support of the Terra Foundation for American Art.
