Washington, D.C. | Mentor: Rahim Fortune
Lawren Simmons is a documentary photographer currently based in Washington, D.C. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, his work explores community resilience, America as an empire, and the promises of the American Dream. Using a speculative documentary lens to observe the interaction of those battling motifs. He views photographing as the ability to preserve his ever-fleeting surroundings, environment, and memories.
“I loved the process of going out weekly to make work to edit and reflect upon. Having sessions with Rahim was always a great reflection point in my work. As someone who is constantly assailed with photographic self-doubt, it was always settling for Rahim to reassure me on the strength of my work and to keep pushing me forward.”
-Lawren Simmons | 2025 Junior Fellow
Project Statement
In 2023, enticed by the opportunity to document the former Chocolate City, I moved to D.C. For decades, the city served as a glimmering beacon of Black prosperity in America. Although the town no longer bears a 20th-century moniker, a vibrant and proud feeling still prevails among the city’s residents. The faces of lifelong residents light up when describing the city in their youth. Often, they speak of the future with tepid optimism–– unsure of the capital’s potential makeup.
This history was the initial driving force of my photographic exploration of the city. I wanted to relate to a population who had made it from slavery to civil rights in the heart of the empire, who perpetually tried to suppress them—a group whose ascension has been labored. I primarily document areas east of the river, where gentrification has led to a decline in the population over the years. With a brief glance, one can see how the nation’s capital and its power structure attempt to erase Blackness to polish the city’s image.
I feel drawn to photograph a group amid this metamorphosis. The work mirrors a change in my own life. The relocation and loss of my father have reoriented my life in a direction unknown.
The project is currently untitled and in progress. I am unsure of when it will end or the shape of the narrative structure, but I place faith in the photographic process’s ability to reveal truth and unravel complexity.
2025 Junior Fellows: Walker Bankson | Sam Gulliver | Rosemary Haynes | Jasmine Huang | Jess Rhodes | Lawren Simmons