Takeisha Jefferson is an international portrait photographer and artist based in Michigan. Her artistic journey developed while she was a Public Affairs Specialist in the Air Force. Shortly after that, she established a successful photography business and continued to refine her craft at Auburn of Montgomery University. She expanded her Birthright series and developed a deep passion for art history during this time.
Takeisha Jefferson's talent and dedication led her to participate in over 55 global exhibitions. Her work has garnered recognition, including a nomination for the Lecia Oskar Barnack Award and a feature on Google Arts and Culture. Her art revolves around significant themes such as family, black womanhood, and empowerment.
Family History Retold
“At the core of my practice is family. I photograph my family—my daughters, my aunts, my cousins. They are my foundation, my first connection to the stories I tell through my work.
For me, photography is more than just capturing an image—it's about holding onto moments, preserving presence, and honoring the people who shape my understanding of the world. My work is deeply rooted in memory, history, and the quiet ways that identity is passed down through generations.
By centering my family, I explore personal narratives and the more significant ways Black life, love, and resilience are carried forward. I create intimate and expansive images where the past, present, and future exist together.
As a child, I would get lost in my grandmother's and great-grandmother's black-and-white photo albums. Hours would pass as I traced my fingers across those pages, studying the faces of my ancestors—their Sunday best carefully pressed, their expressions holding stories I yearned to understand. Those albums weren't just collections of photographs; they were our family's archive, our testament to existence, our proof of presence.
Now, as an artist, I realize those childhood moments were my first lessons in understanding the power of documentation, the importance of being seen, and the sacred duty of preserving our stories.”
The Testify Series
Takeisha’s Testify series may be her most impactful to date. Testify was presented in partnership with the College Art Association and the Services to Artists Committee at Sotheby’s in New York City with overwhelming success. This series was selected for the Critical Mass 2024 Top 50 Award and continues to gain worldwide momentum.
"In creating Testify, I've seen art as both a mirror and a window—a powerful duality that reflects our present while offering glimpses into often-overlooked pasts.
As a mirror, Testify confronts us with how we engage with history today: what we amplify, what we silence, what we choose to hold onto, and what we conveniently forget. The repurposed Civil War and Confederate texts, now transformed into visual art, ask: Whose voices do we privilege in our understanding of the past?
But Testify is also a window. Through it, we see truths that have been obscured, erased, or overshadowed. We are invited to look beyond the simplified narratives we've been taught and seek out the stories that have been whispered rather than shouted.
In this interplay between mirror and window, Testify creates a space for reflection, discovery, and dialogue. It challenges each viewer to be both an observer and a participant in shaping our collective history."
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