Adweek reported on a new colored collection from Getty Images—Black History & Culture Collection—featuring stuff that inspired a Getty executive to gush, “[W]e are proud to be able to unearth and open up access to content previously unavailable or hard to find, facilitating the better telling and understanding of Black history through our visual content.”
Okay, but most Black History Month advertisements can only afford to use royalty-free stock images.
Getty Images’ New Collection Elevates Rarely Seen Moments of Black History and Culture
The assets giant aims to remove another underdiscussed barrier to equity
By Natalie Venegas
A crucial part of the ongoing fight to dismantle systemic racism bias includes providing access to the stories in Black history that have ultimately shaped our country and culture. A new collection from Getty Images digs into its archives to do just that.
The image and assets giant launched the Black History & Culture Collection, which is available for projects focused on education around the histories and cultures of the African/Black Diaspora. The collection, which includes rare images dating as far back to the 1800s, aims to provide access to rarely seen snapshots for educators, academics, researchers and content creators, enabling them to tell untold stories around Black culture.
To highlight the collection a 4-minute spot was released featuring key images of Black history along with activists speaking on the importance of accessibility to Black historical imagery. The Black History & Culture Collection was curated from content owned by Getty Images in partnership with internationally recognized researchers, historians and educators, including Dr. Deborah Willis of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Jina DuVernay of Clark Atlanta University, Dr. Tukufu Zuberi of the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Mark Sealy MBE and Renée Mussai of Autograph.
Embracing culture
For the launch, Getty worked with several influential Black voices, including Alexander Amosu, Wunmi Bello, Joshua Buatsi, Tiffani McReynolds and others to share their own perspectives on pieces of history uncovered within the collection itself. The brand has also partnered with many organizations and educational institutions, including Ohio State University, Black Archives, Radiate Festival, Black History Walks and others who have already used the collection as part of educational curriculum, exhibitions and dialogues surrounding crucial events from the past.
“To be involved with the Black History & Culture Collection and work so closely with reframing access to these images made a tremendous impact on me personally and professionally,” Dr. Willis said in a statement. “It offered me ways in which to guide my students’ research projects and to show how the Black History & Culture Collection is an active, useful archive that can be used by artists, scholars, families, politicians and students to recontextualize the past and give new meaning to images that have been largely unknown or underused.”
A data study conducted early this year showed an increased interest in visualizing a broader range of Black history and culture. For the brand, the lack of accessibility is what continues to drive them toward building upon the telling of Black history.
“Getty Images’ visual archive can provide a unique look into the past and bring untold stories to the present,” Ken Mainardis, senior vice president of content at Getty Images, said in a statement. “With the launch of the Black History & Culture Collection, we are proud to be able to unearth and open up access to content previously unavailable or hard to find, facilitating the better telling and understanding of Black history through our visual content.”
Learn more about the collection, launch partners, curators and content at the brand’s website.
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