An exhibit of photographs by the late photographer and poet Leah Norwood at Compound Long Beach has completely sold out, and the proceeds will be donated to two local nonprofits.
“She humanized all people, regardless of what they looked like, what their situations were, what state they were in when she captured them,” said exhibit curator Brandie Davison. “She was able to bring beauty out of anything.”
Both Davison and Compound have a past relationship with Norwood.
Norwood belonged to Davison’s art collective, ART REALM, where she participated in shows and helped publish a zine.
Before Compound opened its space to the public in September 2020, they did a series of advertisements for five local artists, one of which was Norwood.
“She came off pretty quiet if she didn’t know you well,” Davison said of Norwood. “She was just very smart and very, very creative. She was just an all around creative. That’s the best way that I can describe it. She was amazing with words. She was amazing with her camera. She was amazing at putting things together just with imagery. A big thing about her was being able to see things that others couldn’t and she found beauty in all different kinds of situations and different kinds of people.”
The exhibit includes 13 of Norwood’s photographs, all of which have already been purchased. The photographs will be on display until July 10 before going to their new homes.
“Leah was very well known and very well loved here in Long Beach and definitely an artist that was very active in the community,” said Silissa Smith, interim executive director of Compound Long Beach. “So we wanted to honor her memory and honor her family.”
To find photos for Davison to curate, Norwood’s parents painstakingly went through their late daughter’s work. According to Davison, Norwood had thousands of rolls of film that hadn’t been developed yet.
“There’s a lot of layers there, right? Because this is their daughter who has passed and her work was the biggest part of her life,” Davison said. “So them having to go through her assets, I know it was a big emotional toll on them and I know that took a lot. And they spent a lot of time giving me access to things so that meant a lot.”
Of the photos included in the exhibit, Davison’s favorite depicts a young boy playing a trumpet while sitting on a porch next to a young girl.
“I just think that photo is so dope because it kind of transcends time frames,” Davison said. “It looks like he could be in the middle of Louisiana where that’s a popular part of the culture, especially children playing the horns and playing music in the street. But knowing that it was taken in Leimert Park I just think it’s cool because it illustrates kind of like this merging of Black culture.”
At the time of her death, Norwood was a rising star in Long Beach’s creative scene, with her work featured in Ilford Photo, Late Fee Magazine, Hamburger Eyes and many more publications. Her photography focused on a wide range of topics such as community, gentrification, race, identity and trauma.
“I use documentary photography as a way to express my relationship with adolescent dysphoria, identity, self-image, and our society as a whole,” reads a quote by Norwood on Compound’s website. “I see the beauty in using my work to open up much-needed dialogues on how important it is to not only show the greatness in people but also to shine a light on what hardships people go through to obtain what our society has deemed ‘beautiful.’”
In November 2020, a post made by Norwood’s mother on Norwood’s Instagram account announced that she had passed away on Nov. 26.
“Leah did not want to leave but it was her time,” the post by her mother reads. “If you knew her you know she did so much in the short time she was here. She wasn’t perfect, she experienced everything authentically and her way! I AM so proud of her.”
Norwood’s family chose which nonprofits would receive the proceeds: the WomenShelter of Long Beach and Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS). The WomenShelter of Long Beach provides support and services to victims of domestic violence regardless of gender. BOSS assists young men of color.
Although all the photographs in the exhibit have been sold, zines of Norwood’s images and writing can be purchased at Compound for $30. Stickers of some of her photographs are also available for $20.
“We wanted to be able to honor her work, to showcase her work, her beautiful talents with the community, with Long Beach,” Smith said.
The exhibit of Leah Norwood’s work can be seen at Compound Long Beach, located at 1395 Coronado Ave., until July 10. Compound is open from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
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