Inspired by his first trip to Winneba, Ghana with the City of Charlottesville, Nichelle embarked on a multimedia documentation project, Geechie Marley Experience, to relate the story of his people and their culture. The Gullah Geechie people are one of the oldest surviving African American communities in the United States and are the descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved and brought to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Isolated to coastal plantations, sea and barrier islands, the Gullah peoples were able to preserve and hold onto their West African linguistics, culture, and lifestyle. The exhibition showcases the Gullah cultures in Georgetown, SC, Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA, and is curated to draw awareness and create conversations on histories that aren’t retold or taught. 

Nichelle uses his photography as a form of protest and activism in order to control and define the narrative around himself and the Gullah peoples he represents. In researching and developing work for this project, Nichelle expresses the urgency of documenting history as a way of telling a more rich and complete story. He highlights the importance of the digital creative arts (photography and videography) as a tool to educate others and immortalize the stories of peoples who aren’t provided the platforms to tell their own narratives. 

Nichelle brings this exhibition to Second Street Gallery as a means of flipping the narratives on our preconceived understandings of Gullah/Geechie culture and to serve as a pathway to heal from his experienced traumas as a Gullah native in Charlottesville, VA. This exhibition celebrates the richness of the self-sufficient communities of the Gullah/Geechie people while grounding their modern day practices to their ancestral roots. Ghana to Gullah invites the viewer to consider society’s responsibility and accountability to the preservation of culture. He hopes to contribute to the continued legacy of healing, liberation, solidarity, and consciousness toward the realities of Black and Brown peoples.

 Originally from the low country of South Carolina, Marley Nichelle is a self-taught freelance photographer, versed in landscape, street, concert, and studio photography, currently based in Charlottesville, VA and Choppee, SC. Nichelle views photography as a constant learning experience where he taps into different photographic mediums to push boundaries and challenge himself to master not only his craft but also the content and stories he produces. Through various multimedia projects such as Geechie Marley Experience, he curates images that bring awareness to and create space for vital conversation and education around race and culture, which provide an opportunity for healing, liberation, and diversity of perspective. 

Since his entry into the photography world in 2019, Nichelle has showcased in exhibitions at McGuffey Art Center, Welcome Gallery at New City Arts Initiative, and Second Street Gallery. Nichelle’s work has been featured in media outlets such as the Associated Press, NPR, New York Times, and Shutterstock. 

This exhibition is a Season 48 Call for Submissions pick and is generously sponsored by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Bama Works Grant of Dave Matthews Band, Blue Period Media, Enriching Communities Grant from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, Champion Brewing Company, Charlottesville-Winneba Foundation, Gullah Goodz & Gifts, Hedge Fine Blooms, and Kidogo Farms.