Artist Spotlight: Brint Benson
Brint Benson picked up a camera 9 years ago and fell in love with the idea of telling stories through the lens. But not just any story. He wants to tell the stories of young Black people and people of color.
How has living in the Bronx inspired or influenced your work?
“I highlight Black people and people of color [POC] and tell stories of happiness, joy, and especially love. I want to show that creativity has and will always continue to come out of The Bronx.”
Benson, a 26-year-old Fordham University graduate, studied marketing at Fordham University’s Bronx campus. Photography is a passion; he works with film and polaroid.
What part of the Bronx are you from? Where did you grow up?
“I’m from Harlem and the Bronx. I lived on 156th and Amsterdam in Harlem and also on 167th in the Bronx, all of my life.”
Benson is not only passionate about his art, but about the underprivileged communities of the Bronx. He and a group of friends organized a clean-up effort after the devastating Fordham Road looting in early June of 2020.
They took to the streets at 9 a.m. to help pick up rubbish in ransacked businesses and finished 6 hours later. Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz, praised Benson and his friends’ grassroots efforts because they raised over twelve thousand dollars and donated all of the funds to five different non-profit organizations that will help Bronx residents in need.
Benson and his friends have known each other since 2012. They worked at a popular, streetwear store called, “The Reed Space,” in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, that closed in September of 2016. They formed an everlasting brotherhood. “They’re going to be at my wedding,” Benson said. They come together and support any social cause they are passionate about – the “Black Lives Matter” movement is one of them.
Benson does not care about receiving credit for his efforts. He is just proud of his heritage. “My family has been a part of the civil rights movement for years,” he said. He dedicates his creativity to people who look like him.
Benson has recently released a self-published photo book called Good People. It is composed of everyday people and public figures who have inspired him to be the most authentic artist he can be. This book is a token of his gratitude.
What ideas, if any, do you want to inspire with your art?
“I want my art to inspire the next person to tell their story authentically and unfiltered.”
What is your creative process?
“I want to bring out the essence of the person I’m shooting. I want you to know exactly what my subject is feeling in the exact moment I capture the photo. When I’m going through and creating a book or layout for a post, I’m thinking back to scrapbooks of my childhood. I want to recreate the feel of our childhoods…”
For more information and to view Benson’s work, visit brintbenson.com.
