Archival Recordings

Archival Recordings is a photography project by 2022 LAPL Creator in Residence Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin (also known as Nonstndrd Creative).

Newsletter Archive 2023-2025

About the Photographer
When Kwasi was 2 years of age his family moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles by train, arriving at Union Station in 1980. Growing up in the Hollywood, Mid-City, and Koreatown areas of the city during the nineties sparked an interest in the visual arts at a young age. The death of his father at the age of 19 resulted in him receiving his first real camera, which was a turning point for his trajectory as a creative.

Documenting neighborhoods in Los Angeles is the core of his photographic practice.

In 2017 Kwasi was included on Time Magazine’s list of 12 African American Photographers to Follow, was the lead photographer for the Netflix animation series “City of Ghosts”, and is one of 2 inaugural 2022 Creators in Residence for the Los Angeles Public Library. The mission is to document the evolving urban landscape of Los Angeles and create a lasting photographic archive of digital and physical artifacts that authentically record life in the city from ground level.

Photoessays

Market/Place

Throughout Los Angeles, liquor stores and corner markets are ubiquitous structures in almost every neighborhood. Many have elaborate signage carried over from when they were built that have come to be regarded as iconic elements of the urban landscape.

Los Angeles, Real America Series

Los Angeles is one of the largest cities in the nation and has an even larger influence on mainstream culture in this country. This has been the case for decades and there is no legitimate reason why it should not be considered a part of the quintessential American experience. 

Cruel Summer (2025)
In the city of Los Angeles, the summer of 2025 was not for the faint of heart.