Our Kind of Women:
A visual love letter to Black women redefining their prime.
Intimate portraits. Honest stories. A celebration of reinvention, resilience, and blooming in our own time.
The Mission…
Redefine “prime.” Midlife isn’t a limit; it’s a beginning.
Archive our stories. Create a living record of Black womanhood in motion.
Build an ecosystem. Connect women, voices, and generations through art, reflection, archive, and community.
What is Our Kind of Women?
Our Kind of Women is a visual storytelling and photography project by Bessie Akuba Winn/Bessie Akuba Creative that honors 100 Black women, ages 40–75, who are blooming on their own terms.
Through portraiture, conversation, and reflection, we capture the essence of women in their second act—redefining what it means to be in our prime. This is a living archive. A constellation of stories. An ecosystem of women evolving loudly, softly, and unapologetically..
“The camera gave me an incredible freedom… to look at people and things very, very closely.” — Carrie Mae Weems
Coming Soon!
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Our Kind Of Women Exhibit
March 2026
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Our Kind of Women Coffee Table Book
March 2026
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Our Kind of Women Conversation Cards
January 2026
Meet the Creative Director + Photographer: Bessie Akuba
Our Kind of Women was born from my desire to see Black women—in all of our layers—reflected back to ourselves with reverence, honesty, and light.
As a photographer and storyteller, my work lives at the intersection of art, identity, and becoming. I am fascinated by the way Black women bloom; how we pivot, rebuild, and rise again, even after the world has told us our time has passed. This project is my love letter to that quiet revolution.
Through portraiture and conversation, I aim to create space for Black women over 40 to be seen, heard, and celebrated—not as symbols of resilience, but as full, evolving beings. Each session is an act of witnessing. Each photograph is a collaboration—between the subject, the moment, and the truth that emerges when we allow ourselves to be fully present.
My goal is to hold up a mirror that says: You are already art.
To be seen is to be loved and to be put into good light is to be loved.
