Jimmie Mannas

Jimmie Mannas is a photographer and filmmaker whose extensive body of work addresses concerns and issues facing Black Americans. Mannas’ fine art photography depicts an array of thematic series including topics such as: drug addiction, music and dance performers, post-colonial Guyana, etc. 

Mannas was a founding member of the Kamoinge Workshop, a Black photographer collective established in 1963. In a 2018 interview reflecting on his time in the Kamoinge Workshop, Mannas recalls how the group’s mission went beyond intentions to have their work recognized:

“We had to do more than just take pictures, criticize the pictures, and have shows. We had to do more than just even bring young people closer to photography from the so - called ghetto. We had to take young people and show them that there is a big world out there, junior, and a camera can bring you much closer to it.”

Title: Untitled 2E (or No Way Out, NYC)
Artist: Jimmie Mannas (b. 1941)
Date: 1963
Medium: silver gelatin             
Dimensions: Image size: 9 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches; Framed: 16 ½ x 13 ½ inches
Accession Number: H77.47

This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please send feedback to Curatorial & Visitor Services.

Reproduction of the images contained on this page is not permitted without express permission.  If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in the collections overseen by the New York State Office of General Services, or an image of an OGS publication or archival material, please contact Curatorial & Visitor Services.