Nydia Blas

Nydia Blas (born 1981) is an American photographer from the state of New York, whose works explore the identity of young Black women and girls. Her concern at the lack of Black women represented in the visual arts has led her to concentrate solely on making images of women of color. She is currently an assistant professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she teaches photography in the department of art and visual culture.

Early life and education Nydia Blas was born in October 1981, and grew up in Ithaca, New York. in cinema and photography with a minor in African diaspora studies. She received her Master of Fine Arts in photography from Syracuse University.

Nydia explores sexuality, intimacy, and her lived experience as a child, adult, and mother through photography, collage, film, and books. She uses her art to construct a physical and allegorical space framed through a Black feminine eye, weaving stories about situation, meaning, and influence. Blas's photographs explore Black identity, particularly young Black women and girls. Blas stated that she draws inspiration from Audre Lorde's concept of "the erotic", which includes not just sexuality but also intimacy among family members and friends. One of her photo series is entitled The Girls Who Spun Gold. The name of the photo series comes from a Virginia Hamilton book The Girl Who Spun Gold, which is an African-American interpretation of the classic fairytale "Rumpelstiltskin". In 2018, her photo series Whatever You Like was displayed at the Garey Gallery.

Some of her photographs were included in the book Mfon: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora, "an anthology featuring the work of more than 100 female photographers of African descent from around the world". One of the authors of the book, Adama Delphine Fawundu, referred to Blas's work as "striking", saying: , she was one of the two leaders of the Center, the other being Nia Nunn. Blas and Nunn created an outreach campaign they named "Black Girl Alchemists", which they targeted at young Black women in Ithaca, New York. The campaign encouraged these women to express themselves through literature and art to combat internalized racism and sexism. They won a US$270,000 grant in 2016 to continue their efforts centered on Black cultural identity.

While working at the Southside Community Center, Blas founded the Girl Empowerment Group. Blas acted as a mentor to the girls in the group, encouraging them to keep diaries, teaching them about self esteem, and organizing events for other teenagers in the Black community. Members of the Girl Empowerment Group later became the subjects of her photo series The Girls Who Spun Gold.

Personal life Blas had her first child when she was 18 years old. She stated that her experience as a mother "runs through all of my work".