Chanell Stone facts for kids

Chanell Stone is an American photographer. She is a Black artist known for her photo series called "Natura Negra." Chanell Stone lives and works in Oakland, California.

Early Life and Education

Chanell Stone was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. She studied at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. There, she earned an associate degree in English in 2017. Later, she went to the California College of the Arts. In 2019, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in photography.

Chanell Stone's Photography Work

Chanell Stone's art often features black and white self-portraits. She first learned about analog photography in high school. She still uses film cameras for her work, mostly a Pentax camera.

"Natura Negra" Photo Series

One of Stone's most famous projects is her "Natura Negra" series. This series explores the connection between Black people and nature. It focuses on nature found in busy cities, which she calls "urban nature."

Stone wants to show that natural spaces are for everyone. She aims to change the idea that Black people do not belong in rural areas. She also wants to move past the sad history of Black people's connection to nature through slavery. The "Natura Negra" series earned her an award. She received the Emerging Artist Award from the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco.

Other Photography Projects

Chanell Stone has also worked as an editorial photographer. In 2018, she photographed a family for the California Sunday Magazine. This family was affected by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California.

In February 2021, Apple, Inc. asked 30 photographers to join their "Hometown" campaign. This campaign was for Black History Month. Stone contributed photos of Oakland, California. Her pictures were shown on Apple's Instagram and on billboards. These billboards were around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Stone was also featured in W Magazine in 2020. They named her one of the "8 Young Photographers to Follow." She was also a finalist for the 2020 San Francisco Artadia Award. She says that growing up with social media, like Myspace, made her interested in self-portraits.

Awards and Recognition

Chanell Stone has received several important awards and fellowships:

• 2020 Artist in Residence, Real Time and Space
• 2019–2020 Emerging Artist Award, Museum of the African Diaspora San Francisco
• 2018–2019 Purchase Prize Award, Center for Photography at Woodstock
• 2018–2019 Kate V. and Harry W. Davies Memorial Scholarship, California College of the Arts
• 2017–2019 Diversity Scholarship, California College of the Arts
• 2017–2019 Faculty Honors Scholarship, California College of the Arts

Exhibitions

Chanell Stone's work has been shown in many art exhibitions:

• Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, California, "Poetics of Conflict" (2018)
• Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, NY, "Photography Now" (2018)
• Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY, "Vice Versa" (2018)
• Aperture Foundation, New York, NY, "Aperture Summer Open: Delirious Cities” (2019)
• SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA, "Forecast" (2019)
• Hit Gallery, San Francisco, CA, "Brass Tacks" (2019)
• Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA "Experiments in the Field: Creative Collaboration in the Age of Ecological Concern” (2020)
• Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA, "Natura Negra" (2020)
• Apple, Inc., Shot on iPhone, "Hometown" (2021)

Collections

Chanell Stone's photographs are part of permanent art collections:

• Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, New York
• Meyer Library: Artist Book Collection, Oakland, California