PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Ubuntu is a philosophy rooted in Africa. The word means "humanity unto others." In Philadelphia's Germantown, it is also an immersive fine art experience.
"I wanted, when people walked into the gallery, to feel something — peace, euphoria, zen," said Steven CW Taylor, owner and curator of Ubuntu Fine Art Gallery, 5423 Germantown Ave.
The photography gallery, which opened in September, is a first-of-it's-kind place for Philadelphia. There are 21 curated pieces of art that fill the walls. All of them are photos taken by Taylor.
Taylor shot the photos during his travels all over the world. The 39-year-old has been to 18 countries and four national parks where he gathered the experiences now on display.
"This is a luxury fine art gallery, but I didn’t want it to be stuffy. It's in the hood," Taylor said with a laugh. "So, I wanted it to be a place of relative healing. When people walked through the doors, I wanted them to have the ability to transport themselves trough these portals to somewhere else and leave whatever it is on the other side of the door on the other side of the door."
"Bali Indonesia; Nairobi, Kenya; Lamu, Kenya; Montana; Barbados; Abu Dhabi. So we have the world kind of represented, and you know, you can come into the gallery and, on some level, step into different parts of the world," he said.
"That is Lamu, Kenya. Those young men are jumping into the Indian Ocean," he said, gesturing to one print.
"I was in Lamu last year, November 2020. It's one of my favorite places in the world, because of this energy, because of this spirit. It’s only about four cars on the island, so everything is done by donkey. And there’s an intimacy there that I haven’t found anywhere else in the world."
He says he was excited to bring his talents home to his community. His Germantown roots are reflected in the gallery as well. Taylor says one of his best-selling prints is a black-and-white photograph of Chew Avenue.
"My grandmother used to live around the corner on Lena Street. I’m from Chew Avenue in between Locust and Woodlawn. So this is my community. This is my neighborhood, and I wanted to put my gallery where I’m from, as opposed to somewhere else that my community may not have the access to experience it."
Taylor says he is an engineer by trade.
"I didn’t get into cameras until I was past 30. So I had a whole career, a whole life, before I even became a photographer," he said.
The idea for Ubuntu came from a tech conference in Las Vegas in 2017.
"I stumbled across another photographer’s gallery that had similar face-mounted, acrylic prints. And I was an awe."
He said from then on, he started shooting for the possibility of print, even if he didn't have the skills yet to print in what he considered a fine art manner.
"Everything leads to something else," Taylor said, adding that the universe has aligned to lead him to where he is.
The Ubuntu fine art gallery is open to the public, and admission is free.