Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.
Njaimeh Njie, Multimedia Artist.
Working across photography, film, installation, and public art, Njaimeh Njie‘s practice centers everyday Black people, narratives, and landscapes with a focus on how the past shapes the present. She has worked on storytelling projects in communities across Western Pennsylvania, as well as Jackson, Mississippi, Paris, France, and Northern Ireland.
Njaimeh is the author of the photobook, This Is Where We Find Ourselves (2021), and she has exhibited in spaces including the Carnegie Museum of Art and The Mattress Factory. She has presented at venues including TEDxPittsburghWomen, Brown University, and Harvard University, and her work is included in the permanent collections of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, as well as many private collections.
2019-2021, Njaimeh worked with the Legacy Committee of the Historic Centre Avenue YMCA in Pittsburgh’s Hill District to create and install a photo mural paying tribute to the rich legacy of the institution. All Roads Lead to the Y collages a combination of archival and contemporary photos, and showcases images made by the legendary photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris, to stand as a marker of the past, present, and future legacies of the building and the Hill community at large. In addition to community collaborations such as this, Njaimeh has been honored with awards including the 2019 Visual Artist of the Year by the Pittsburgh City Paper, and the 2018 Emerging Artist of the Year by the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Beyond her independent practice Njaimeh is the Founder/Lead Producer of the nonfiction storytelling company Eleven Stanley Productions. She earned her B.A. in Film and Media Studies in 2010 from Washington University in St. Louis.
Njaimeh’s mother, Valerie Njie is a member of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH. I had the distinct and unique honor to work with Njaimeh on the Legacy Committee of the Historic Centre Avenue YMCA in Pittsburgh’s Historic Hill District where Njaimeh did an excellent job.
Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH
DR. EDNA B. MCKENZIE BRANCH OF ASALH 