Photo © Rory Doyle
Documentary - NOMINEE: Rory Doyle
Delta Hill Riders
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Delta Hill Riders
A recent article in Smithsonian estimated that just after the Civil War, one in four cowboys were African American. Yet this population was drastically underrepresented in popular accounts. And it is still. The “cowboy” identity retains a strong presence in many contemporary black communities.
This ongoing documentary project in the rural Mississippi Delta, “Delta Hill Riders,” sheds light on an overlooked black subculture — one that resists both historical and modern stereotypes.
The project began in January 2017 when I attended a black heritage rodeo in Greenville, Mississippi.
The body of work reveals how deep and diverse this community is. I’ve been invited to black heritage rodeos, horse shows, trail rides, “Cowboy Night” at black nightclubs, and subjects’ homes across the Delta.
On a personal level, I've been welcomed by these folks in a way I couldn’t have imagined. And because of that, it’s been the most engaging project I've worked on. It’s a story that's particularly timely with the current political environment, and one that provides a renewed focus on rural America.
Delta Hill Riders is a counter-narrative to the often negative portrayal of African Americans. Instead, I have captured a group of riders showing love for their horses and fellow cowboys, while also passing down traditions and historical perspectives among generations.
Ultimately, the project aims to press against my own old archetypes — who could and could not be a cowboy, and what it means to be black in Mississippi — while uplifting the voices of my subjects.
About author:
Rory Doyle is a working photographer based in Cleveland, Mississippi in the rural Mississippi Delta.
Doyle is a 2018 Mississippi Visual Artist Fellow through the Mississippi Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts for his ongoing project on African American cowboys and cowgirls, "Delta Hill Riders." Doyle won the 16th Annual Smithsonian Photo Contest with the project, which was announced in April 2019. Later that month, Doyle was awarded the Southern Prize from South Arts organization. The work was featured in the Half King Photo Series in New York and The Print Space Gallery in London before opening at the Delta Arts Alliance in February 2019. He was also recognized for the project by winning the 2019 Zeiss Photography Award, and the photojournalism category at the 2018 Eye Em Awards in Berlin, Germany.
PUBLICATIONS & CLIENTS
New York Times, The Guardian, Newsweek, The Atlantic, NPR, CNN, ESPN, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN The Undefeated, Washington Post, Smithsonian, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo News, ABC News, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Lonely Planet, Esquire, Associated Press, Southern Living, Men’s Journal, The Bitter Southerner, CNN Style, National Parks Magazine, Getty, Photo District News, Feature Shoot, Aint-Bad, Forbes, British Journal of Photography, Sierra Magazine, Financial Times, Medium, Huck Magazine Lenscratch, Vox Media, The Marshall Project, Reebok Spartan Race, Teach for America, The Local Palate, The Sun, Daily Mail, Oxford American, JOIA Magazine, Food Network, MUSÉE, C41 Magazine, Canoe & Kayak Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Marriott, Penton Media, Roads & Kingdoms, Delta Sky Magazine, Mississippi Magazine, Delta Magazine, Delta State University, Fathom and more.
—
EXHIBITIONS
Solo:
2019 – "Delta Hill Riders," The Print Space, London, England
2019 – "Delta Hill Riders," Delta Arts Alliance, Cleveland, MS
2018 – "Delta Hill Riders," Half King Photo Series, New York, NY
Group:
2019 – Somerset House, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards, London, England
2019 – OBSCURA Festival of Photography, "Delta Hill Riders," George Town, Malaysia
2019 – Prix de la Photographie, "State of the World," Paris, France
2019 – HeadOn Photography Festival, "Delta Hill Riders," Sydney, Australia
2019 – Malta Postal Museum, "Delta Hill Riders," Valletta, Malta
2019 – South Arts, "Delta Hill Riders," 701 Center for Contemporary Art, Columbia, SC
2019 – South Arts Exhibition, "Delta Hill Riders," Columbus State University, Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA
2019 – Meridian Museum of Art, “Delta Hill Riders,” Meridian, MS
2019 – Artfields, “Delta Hill Riders,” Lake City, SC
2018 – "Mississippi Invitational," Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS
2018 – 2018 Eye Em Awards, "Delta Hill Riders," Berlin, Germany
2018 – Mississippi Museum of Art, “Delta Hill Riders,” Jackson, MS
2018 – Meitar Festival, "Delta Hill Riders," Tel Aviv, Isreal
2018 – “Delta Hill Riders,” Tikhonova + Winter Gallery, Harlem, NY
2018 – Slow Exposures, Zebulon, Georgia
2017 – “Delta Immigration,” Bologna Performing Arts Center, Cleveland, MS
2017 – Edna Manley College of Visual and Preforming Arts, "Delta Immigration,” Kingston, Jamaica
2014 – National Arts Club, Mississippi Rising, New York, NY
—
AWARDS
2019 – Zeiss Photography Award, Grand Prize Winner
2019 – Southern Prize (grand prize) South Arts for “Delta Hill Riders”
2019 – Smithsonian Photo Contest, Grand Prize Winner
2019 – Michael P. Smith Award for Documentary Photography, New Orleans Photo Alliance
2019 – ZEKE Award for Documentary Photography, Social Documentary Network
2019 – GUP Editorial Award, Belfast, Northern Ireland for "Delta Hill Riders"
2019 – Taking Focus Grant for “Delta Hill Riders”
2019 – South Arts, State of Mississippi Fellowship for “Delta Hill Riders”
2019 – Prix de la Photographie, "State of the World," Paris, France
2019 – MS Institute of Arts and Letters, photography category for “Delta Hill Riders”
2019 – New York Times Portfolio Review, New York City
2019 – PDN's 30, nominee, Photo District News
2019 – Life Framer, "Urban Stories," Finalist
2019 – Photo Chronicles, portrait series, Finalist
2018 – Photojournalist of the Year, 2018 Eye Em Photo Contest, Berlin, Germany
2018 – Finalist – Photographer of the Year, Eye Em Photo Contest, Berlin, Germany
2018 – National Press Photographer’s Association, first place, best online gallery, “Delta Hill Riders,” Washington Post
2018 – Mississippi Arts Commission, 2018 Visual Artist Fellowship grant
2018 – Meitar Award for Excellence in Photography, finalist, “Delta Hill Riders,” Tel Aviv, Israel
2018 – Malta International Photo Award, second place, storytelling, “Delta Hill Riders,” Malta
2018 – Artist in Residence, Slow Exposures, Zebulon, GA
2018 – Creative Hub Competition, finalist, London, England
2018 – Slow Exposures, Honorable Mention, Zebulon, GA
2016 – Gold Medal, International Regional Magazine Assoc., “A Wild Shrimp Chase" photo essay in Mississippi Magazine
2013 – Mississippi Press Association, Second Place breaking news photo, Third place daily news photo
2012 – Mississippi Press Association, First Place breaking news photo, Third place daily news photo
—
WORKSHOPS
2018 – Slow Exposures Artist in Residency, Zebulon, GA
2015 – Barefoot Workshops, one-week intensive documentary workshop led by world-renowned photojournalist Ron Haviv.
2014 – Leadership Bolivar County, six-month group leadership seminar for young community leaders
—
ARTIST LECTURE VENUES
2019 – Zeiss Full Exposure Podcast, artist episode feature
2019 – Real Photo Show Podcast, School of Visual Arts, New York City
2019 – University of South Carolina, School of Journalism and Mass Communications
2019 – Mississippi Arts Hour, "Mississippi Invitational," Mississippi Public Broadcasting
2019 – Delta State University, Quality Enhancement Program
2018 – Bolivar County Historical Society, Delta State University
2016 – Mississippi Arts Hour, Mississippi Public Broadcasting and Mississippi Arts Commission
—
EDUCATION
Undergrad — St. Michael's College, (Colchester, VT), journalism
Semester Abroad — University of Auckland, (Auckland, New Zealand)
Graduate — Delta State University, (Cleveland, MS), education
A recent article in Smithsonian estimated that just after the Civil War, one in four cowboys were African American. Yet this population was drastically underrepresented in popular accounts. And it is still. The “cowboy” identity retains a strong presence in many contemporary black communities.
This ongoing documentary project in the rural Mississippi Delta, “Delta Hill Riders,” sheds light on an overlooked black subculture — one that resists both historical and modern stereotypes.
The project began in January 2017 when I attended a black heritage rodeo in Greenville, Mississippi.
The body of work reveals how deep and diverse this community is. I’ve been invited to black heritage rodeos, horse shows, trail rides, “Cowboy Night” at black nightclubs, and subjects’ homes across the Delta.
On a personal level, I've been welcomed by these folks in a way I couldn’t have imagined. And because of that, it’s been the most engaging project I've worked on. It’s a story that's particularly timely with the current political environment, and one that provides a renewed focus on rural America.
Delta Hill Riders is a counter-narrative to the often negative portrayal of African Americans. Instead, I have captured a group of riders showing love for their horses and fellow cowboys, while also passing down traditions and historical perspectives among generations.
Ultimately, the project aims to press against my own old archetypes — who could and could not be a cowboy, and what it means to be black in Mississippi — while uplifting the voices of my subjects.
About author:
Rory Doyle is a working photographer based in Cleveland, Mississippi in the rural Mississippi Delta.
Doyle is a 2018 Mississippi Visual Artist Fellow through the Mississippi Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts for his ongoing project on African American cowboys and cowgirls, "Delta Hill Riders." Doyle won the 16th Annual Smithsonian Photo Contest with the project, which was announced in April 2019. Later that month, Doyle was awarded the Southern Prize from South Arts organization. The work was featured in the Half King Photo Series in New York and The Print Space Gallery in London before opening at the Delta Arts Alliance in February 2019. He was also recognized for the project by winning the 2019 Zeiss Photography Award, and the photojournalism category at the 2018 Eye Em Awards in Berlin, Germany.
PUBLICATIONS & CLIENTS
New York Times, The Guardian, Newsweek, The Atlantic, NPR, CNN, ESPN, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN The Undefeated, Washington Post, Smithsonian, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo News, ABC News, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Lonely Planet, Esquire, Associated Press, Southern Living, Men’s Journal, The Bitter Southerner, CNN Style, National Parks Magazine, Getty, Photo District News, Feature Shoot, Aint-Bad, Forbes, British Journal of Photography, Sierra Magazine, Financial Times, Medium, Huck Magazine Lenscratch, Vox Media, The Marshall Project, Reebok Spartan Race, Teach for America, The Local Palate, The Sun, Daily Mail, Oxford American, JOIA Magazine, Food Network, MUSÉE, C41 Magazine, Canoe & Kayak Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Marriott, Penton Media, Roads & Kingdoms, Delta Sky Magazine, Mississippi Magazine, Delta Magazine, Delta State University, Fathom and more.
—
EXHIBITIONS
Solo:
2019 – "Delta Hill Riders," The Print Space, London, England
2019 – "Delta Hill Riders," Delta Arts Alliance, Cleveland, MS
2018 – "Delta Hill Riders," Half King Photo Series, New York, NY
Group:
2019 – Somerset House, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards, London, England
2019 – OBSCURA Festival of Photography, "Delta Hill Riders," George Town, Malaysia
2019 – Prix de la Photographie, "State of the World," Paris, France
2019 – HeadOn Photography Festival, "Delta Hill Riders," Sydney, Australia
2019 – Malta Postal Museum, "Delta Hill Riders," Valletta, Malta
2019 – South Arts, "Delta Hill Riders," 701 Center for Contemporary Art, Columbia, SC
2019 – South Arts Exhibition, "Delta Hill Riders," Columbus State University, Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA
2019 – Meridian Museum of Art, “Delta Hill Riders,” Meridian, MS
2019 – Artfields, “Delta Hill Riders,” Lake City, SC
2018 – "Mississippi Invitational," Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS
2018 – 2018 Eye Em Awards, "Delta Hill Riders," Berlin, Germany
2018 – Mississippi Museum of Art, “Delta Hill Riders,” Jackson, MS
2018 – Meitar Festival, "Delta Hill Riders," Tel Aviv, Isreal
2018 – “Delta Hill Riders,” Tikhonova + Winter Gallery, Harlem, NY
2018 – Slow Exposures, Zebulon, Georgia
2017 – “Delta Immigration,” Bologna Performing Arts Center, Cleveland, MS
2017 – Edna Manley College of Visual and Preforming Arts, "Delta Immigration,” Kingston, Jamaica
2014 – National Arts Club, Mississippi Rising, New York, NY
—
AWARDS
2019 – Zeiss Photography Award, Grand Prize Winner
2019 – Southern Prize (grand prize) South Arts for “Delta Hill Riders”
2019 – Smithsonian Photo Contest, Grand Prize Winner
2019 – Michael P. Smith Award for Documentary Photography, New Orleans Photo Alliance
2019 – ZEKE Award for Documentary Photography, Social Documentary Network
2019 – GUP Editorial Award, Belfast, Northern Ireland for "Delta Hill Riders"
2019 – Taking Focus Grant for “Delta Hill Riders”
2019 – South Arts, State of Mississippi Fellowship for “Delta Hill Riders”
2019 – Prix de la Photographie, "State of the World," Paris, France
2019 – MS Institute of Arts and Letters, photography category for “Delta Hill Riders”
2019 – New York Times Portfolio Review, New York City
2019 – PDN's 30, nominee, Photo District News
2019 – Life Framer, "Urban Stories," Finalist
2019 – Photo Chronicles, portrait series, Finalist
2018 – Photojournalist of the Year, 2018 Eye Em Photo Contest, Berlin, Germany
2018 – Finalist – Photographer of the Year, Eye Em Photo Contest, Berlin, Germany
2018 – National Press Photographer’s Association, first place, best online gallery, “Delta Hill Riders,” Washington Post
2018 – Mississippi Arts Commission, 2018 Visual Artist Fellowship grant
2018 – Meitar Award for Excellence in Photography, finalist, “Delta Hill Riders,” Tel Aviv, Israel
2018 – Malta International Photo Award, second place, storytelling, “Delta Hill Riders,” Malta
2018 – Artist in Residence, Slow Exposures, Zebulon, GA
2018 – Creative Hub Competition, finalist, London, England
2018 – Slow Exposures, Honorable Mention, Zebulon, GA
2016 – Gold Medal, International Regional Magazine Assoc., “A Wild Shrimp Chase" photo essay in Mississippi Magazine
2013 – Mississippi Press Association, Second Place breaking news photo, Third place daily news photo
2012 – Mississippi Press Association, First Place breaking news photo, Third place daily news photo
—
WORKSHOPS
2018 – Slow Exposures Artist in Residency, Zebulon, GA
2015 – Barefoot Workshops, one-week intensive documentary workshop led by world-renowned photojournalist Ron Haviv.
2014 – Leadership Bolivar County, six-month group leadership seminar for young community leaders
—
ARTIST LECTURE VENUES
2019 – Zeiss Full Exposure Podcast, artist episode feature
2019 – Real Photo Show Podcast, School of Visual Arts, New York City
2019 – University of South Carolina, School of Journalism and Mass Communications
2019 – Mississippi Arts Hour, "Mississippi Invitational," Mississippi Public Broadcasting
2019 – Delta State University, Quality Enhancement Program
2018 – Bolivar County Historical Society, Delta State University
2016 – Mississippi Arts Hour, Mississippi Public Broadcasting and Mississippi Arts Commission
—
EDUCATION
Undergrad — St. Michael's College, (Colchester, VT), journalism
Semester Abroad — University of Auckland, (Auckland, New Zealand)
Graduate — Delta State University, (Cleveland, MS), education