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Award-winning photographer Amadou Kromah’s key to photography is “storytelling, just sharing people’s stories.”
Kromah has been taking photos since he was 15 years old, growing up on the south side of Madison. He’s photographed prominent acts like Boyz ll Men, Earth Wind & Fire and Patti LaBelle. He earned national recognition in 2017 when he placed silver in the photography category for the NAACP Youth ACT-SO Program.
Kromah has worked with the Overture Center, American Family Insurance, University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin Historical Society, YWCA, Urban League and the NAACP. He was an artist in residence at The Bubbler at the Madison Public Library, taught teens in photography, and has exhibited work at the Goodman Community Center, Wisconsin State History Museum and the Center for Black Excellence and Culture.
Kromah’s new exhibition, “Preserving Art & Culture for a Decade,” is now on display on the third floor of Central Library through Aug. 1. The exhibit features large photographs highlighting the beauty, brilliance and resilience of Black life.
Kromah spoke with the Cap Times before the exhibition opened about his inspiration, process and most memorable images.
“Catching the wind” by Amadou Kromah is on display now in “Preserving Art & Culture for a Decade.”
What inspires you?
People have stories that I feel are worth sharing. I love the community and they are always pouring back into me. There will be a photo in this exhibit called “Mad Lit.” It was a great big picture of one of the nights that they had their city concerts and itself is a really beautiful encompassing image of downtown. You get to see all the joy in people’s faces. I love working with a documentary mindset like Gordon Parks. I love that he can add stories to a lot of his images.
What is your process?
I try to make my subjects feel comfortable by having conversations and asking them questions. Once there’s a level of trust built between you and your subject … it helps when they feel, “This is my friend taking my picture, not some photographer that I hired.”
What should people know about your work?
I try to find stories and joy within a lot of my images. You may have a certain vision for something, but when you put it out there in the world a lot of people can easily have their own mindset about it. Their own memories are associated with it. They would be like “Wow, that reminds me of me being a kid playing in the park,” or “(It) reminds me of my garden because of the flowers.”
“Bloom within” is an image by Amadou Kromah, now on display at the Central Library.
What should people know about your upcoming exhibit?
I want my exhibits to create a safe space for people, a place for them to share, socialize and enjoy passions together.
The poster exhibit photo was taken with two sisters that were raised here in Madison. They’re so photogenic and able to express emotion. They were open when it came to seeing the vision. I had a sit down going over outfits, the lighting and the makeup. The design, I had an idea from a makeup artist that I knew.
The Black community, when they came to my first exhibit, everybody loved it. They were moved by the beauty, the reflection of the two sisters and sisterhood. It spoke to a lot of people.
Tell me about some of your most memorable photos.
It’s the “Catch the wind” photo. I had the young girls all dress up in white and told them to have fun outside, in the park. I gave them a red kite and I was able to capture their joy.
One of my first shows that I was asked to take photos of was DRUMLine Live! when they came here to Madison. The amount of passion and energy there, trying to catch everything on that stage with my camera … capturing them in extremely low lighting at the Overture was hard. I was young, still learning, but I was able to pull off something that I never thought I would be able to do.
Dauntae Green is reporting for the Cap Times in 2026 as a David Maraniss Fellow. He is pursuing a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Email story ideas and tips to Dauntae at [email protected].
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