Meet Alexis Abdur Salaam

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Abdur Salaam.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Photography has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. It was never something I thought would be my career until a couple years ago when others noticed my art. It was hard for me to think of photography as a career because I never wanted to get caught up with the business and the money-making side of it. I have seen how it has killed the fire inside of many creatives around me or how many just do it because of money and I didn’t want that to happen to me. When I made the leap anyway, I was intentionally going the make Becoming Photography something different. Since I have been on this road, I have met so many different creatives that have shared the same passion as me and done so many shoots that have grown my personal self in so many ways. The many people that I have photographed have truly inspired me to continue to grow in this business. They have kept me here. I have gained so many meaningful relationships through this process by being intentional about a vulnerability in my shoots, I try not to just take your picture but to meet your soul. I ask people about where their insecurities come from that make them smile this way or that or why they lack the courage to smile and then pour love into those scars. I push people to be their awkward corky selves and to not focus on having that perfect picture but to learn how to have grace in themselves through the process. Hoping that they will take that and apply it to other areas in their lives. I love stories and intertwining my love for words with the photos I put out, so as I am still on this journey, I am forever grateful that photography has pushed me to learn so much about myself, my creativity, and the power of vulnerability in relationships.

Please tell us about your art.
I am a creator. Searching for a way to connect to the world, I picked up a camera. Taking pictures of things that moved me, things that should be documented and things that would cause a person to self-reflect. I started Becoming photography once my husband pushed me to turn a hobby into a career. With intention, I named my business Becoming Photography because I decided I wanted to capture the start, process and/or transformation of someone and what they are becoming, whether it be a women becoming a mom or an empty vessel after childbirth, a student becoming a graduate or someone becoming something they never knew they could become. Portraying people in some of their most vulnerable states I am trying to push them and those who see my work and the captions I attach to them to find those areas within that need healing. I hope that when people come across my work that it evokes something within them, whether it be momentary joy, self-reflection, vulnerability or just a chance for someone to metaphorically pull one of their band-aides off to let wound air dry. I am working every day to push myself towards putting out content that is a light within the scary world of social media.

What do you think about conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
Being creative can be super lonely, what I suggest is putting it out there for your followers! Whether it be on your story or in a post just be vulnerable put something out there like “Looking for anyone who wants to connect doing XYZ ” or “Struggling with XYZ anyone out there wants to connect? ” I do it all the time and receive tons of people saying they love my work and want to be apart of creating it or people who are like “I do what you do and struggle with that too we should get coffee!” and it has helped so much especially with being new to the Phoenix area. Another thing that has helped me tremendously is joining Facebook photography/creative groups for the area I live in, there are tons! They have a bunch of people in there looking to connect and in general, they’re willing to connect on a free level so reach out! Lastly, I’d suggest checking #hashtags I always look up, for example, #azmodels and reach out to a few to connect with and I’ve actually gotten some of my best work out of those people I have reached out to on my own! Feel free to reach out to me as well I’m always open to connecting to new people, I hope that helps!

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work is currently only on social media platforms as I am a new growing artist. Those social media platforms would be Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I was in a RAW artist showcase in Minneapolis, Minnesota this past year and will be in a RAW artist showcase in Phoenix this next year, so be on the lookout for that. I believe that people can support me by following me on social media, booking shoots with me and working on their own self-healing.

Contact Info:

• Email: ajasalaam@gmail.com
• Instagram: becomingalexisj
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/becomingalexisj
• Twitter: becomingalexisj
• Other: becomingalexisj

Image Credit:
Butterfly pic: @fiyah_sauce Saffiyah Alaziz, Two women in yellow: Nayima & @chelsea_alexiss ChelseaJackson, Two women with crowns: @reginathep Regina Thep & @christine_thao_ Christine Thao, Blue background: @becomingraven Raven The red background: @lyssamarie.e Alyssa Carroll

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.