"Folklore is the boiled-down juice of human living. It does not belong to any special time, place, nor people. No country is so primitive that it has no lore, no country has yet become so civilized that no folklore is being made within its boundaries.”
– Zora Neale Hurston

OUT HERE is a folklore series. In June 2019, I took a leap of faith and traveled across America to meet with thirty-one everyday people who believed in my vision and reflected on the intimate details of their interior lives. We talked about E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G: memories, love, community, the state of America, home, safety, and the values that have fortified their survival. Speaking with folks spanning a cross-section of identities, beliefs, and regions revealed the dynamic power of human differences.

My intention with this archive is to challenge the public imagination by celebrating marginalized people in all of their real, complex and uncompromising beauty.

Kyana Gordon is an artist, writer, and researcher. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Credits
Co-Producer: Willy Mason
Mentor + Audio Sensei: Frannie Kelley
Music: Malik  and Earth Wind & Fire
Website: Andrew Herzog and David Latimore from Schooool
 

Special thanks to everyone who wholeheartedly believed in this project especially Lynda Gordon, Sean McGraw, Marissa Shrum, Sarah Alfaham, Namira Islam Anani, and Crystal Good.

© Kyana Gordon