Instagram story viewer> @geesbendwtth> Tagged

Gee’s Bend: Welcome To The Hole Documentary

@geesbendwtth

undefined

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

So many things went better than good on this trip. The @geesbendwtth team had an amazing time at this year’s #AiringOfTheQuilts festival in #GeesBend (@visitgeesbend)!
I absolutely want to thank the ancestors first for lookin’ out for us, laying the ground work in their lifetimes to make our work that much more possible, and just bein’ some down ass Afrikans and New Afrikans dedicated to the liberation of our people.
Martha Jane Pettway, Rubin Bendolph Jr., Aunt Deborah, Fannie Lou Hamer, Cudjo Lewis, Omowale El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X), Estelle Witherspoon, Marcus Garvey; just to name a few.
We’ve got a fuller recap on the way for our @geesbendwtth page, but I just wanted to share a little myself of our experience.
Thank you to everyone we connected with out there. I wish we took more pictures together lol !
So proud of the team too!! Shoutout to @xsaviorism, @c_jefferson_, @julian_argo, and @afro_daakye for holdin it down on this trip and throughout the whole project. Shoutout @byarielbrown & @auntyenii_ who couldn’t make it, but are ESSENTIAL to this project as well!
Huge shoutout to the organizers of this year’s festival @fqb.legacy and @sewgeesbend_heritagebuilders; amazing job!
Images 1, 5, and 7 courtesy of the highly skilled elder @gusbennettphoto; appreciate you dearly brotha!
#GeesBendWTTH

3

13

Airing of the Quilts Gee's Bend 2026 was another one for...the books! Thank you for every kind word of encouragement and support.

66

5

Airing of the Quilts Festival Feature ☀️ Visit the River Gallery for a special sneak peek of the upcoming documentary film Gee’s Bend: Welcome To The Hole.

Executive produced by Brian Xsavior Pettway, Gee’s Bend descendant and great-grandson of quiltmaker and community leader Martha Jane Pettway, Gee’s Bend: Welcome To The Hole gives an insider’s perspective on the nuances that have shaped this community and the lives of those living in it.

To learn more about the film follow @geesbendwtth.

#aotq #geesbend #community #film #documentary

152

12

35mm Film Scans from January 2024 up until present day from my series Life and Times

© 2024 Phillip Loken/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Portfolio/Website: https://PLStudio.xyz
All Inquiries: PL@PLStudio.xyz

What’s crazy is I looked up and realized I hadn’t shared any of my film photography work since December 2023. I always move a lot slower with my film photography, but I’ve fasho been cookin. These scans are from as early as January 2024 up until now and span my travels to Selma, Alabama, Gee’s Bend, D.C., Atlanta, a couple airports and other locations in between.
I love my people, our people, and I love making images of them.

#blackphotographer #documentaryphotographer #fineartphotographers #blackartspace #philliploken

3

13

It’s 30 Days of SDF, y’all! 🎉⁠
⁠
We’re excited to kick off a month-long celebration of the work Southern Documentary Fund does to support Southern makers and the powerful projects they bring to life.⁠
⁠
Check out this video from Phillip Loken (@studiophill_ ), Director and Producer of @geesbendwtth , as he shares what SDF means to him and why telling Southern stories matters now more than ever.⁠
⁠
Learn more about SDF by clicking the link in the bio!

149

28

“Peace Peace, just checking in and Wishing everyone reading this a Happy and Safe Holiday Season! Me and my Brothers and Sisters at @geesbendwtth are having a sale on our images created during the production of our upcoming Documentary Gee’s Bend: Welcome to the hole. This process has been a labor of love filled with intention, growth, fellowship and one of most enriching projects I’ve ever been privileged enough to be a part of. You can purchase a photo if you feel so inclined using the link in my bio. If you made it this far in the post I’d like to say a few things… I’m Thankful for you All and I hope this message reaches you in good spirits. Much Respect, Much Love and most of all… Peace Up ✊🏿”

Photo #1: X the artist prepping for production at the Home that’s the center of our documentary. This homestead was the first of many constructed on the vast Pettway Estate around 1940 and served as the center of community, commerce and fellowship as the Pettways established their societal footprint in Gee’s Bend (Boykin, Alabama)

Photo #2: The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama, located 40 miles from Gee’s Bend creating free passage over the Alabama River. This bridge was made famous from the non-violent protests spearheaded by Dr. Martin Luther King and countless volunteers pushing the effort to galvanize the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

14 prints are now available and consist of images made during production from October 2023 up until now from Director and Producer @studiophill_, Co-Director of Photography @C_Jefferson_, and Behind The Scenes photographers @julian_argo , @OmoPastorr and @Afro_Daakye. Film Score By: @thesinopsis 🫡
Each print is a part of an open edition set (unsigned and unnumbered) printed on Epson Hot Press Natural Paper with prices ranging from $75 to $1000.
(Use code FREE2025 for free shipping)
You can choose from sizes 12x18 inches, 16x24 inches, 20x30 inches, and 24x36 inches with framing and mat available for most sizes.
50% of the profits from print sales will be donated to local Gee’s Bend organization the @fqb.legacy and the rest will be used for production expenses.

75

2

Last weekend, I spent time some time in #Alabama as a selected photographer for the 6th annual @PhotographicNightsOfSelma Photography Festival; my first time exhibiting in #SelmaAlabama!
Shoutout to everyone I connected with, from the new community made with my Black folks from the SOUFFF and all across the Afrikan diaspora to the photographers from France (IG wouldn’t let me tag all y’all in the photo lol @the_cinematic_traveler , @petarphoto, @romain.coudrier, @cattcuss). The festival was incredible and I highly recommend applying when it comes back around next year. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the appreciation and gratitude I have for spending time at the home of Joanne Bland (@journeysforthesoul_joannebland), Co-Founder of Photographic Nights of Selma, Civil Rights activist and former SNCC member. Thank you @stephanekossmannphotographer for your role as Co-Founder of the festival as well; you’ve created something special here!
Huge shoutout (and happy belated) to the homie and new Director of the festival @sydney.a.foster! I could go on for days about how important she is to Alabama and the global Black/Afrikan photography community, but her work speaks for itself.

While in Selma, I got a chance to link with the good brotha @therealsmileyjo (appreciate you serving the community as a firefighter and being apart of our @GeesBendWTTH film). Before I headed back home, I slid over to #GeesBend too and paid my respects to the ancestors as well; Rest in Power Miss Martha Jane Pettway.
It’s always an honor to be able to step into a space and build community wherever you’re at; we got us.

.
.
.
.
.
#philliploken
#blackphotographer #blackfineart #documentarian #blackartists #blackartspace #blackphotographers #fineartphotography #fineartphotographers #kamoinge #hyperallergic #documentaryphotographer #blackartwork #blackart365 #blackartinamerica #blackartcollectors #youngblackartists #supportblackcreators #sugarcanemagazine #hoodoo
#photographicnightsofselma #alabamaartist #artsrevive
#PhotographyFestival #PhotoFestival #NuitsPhotographiquesDePierrevert

3

18

Speaking of the Airing of the Quilts -Gee's Bend...look who is taking on the main stage! Pearl and Charles are ready. Will you be there?

34

2

(Photographer: @Afro_Daakye)

Back in late June, the Gee’s Bend: Welcome To The Hole team (@GeesBendWTTH) were back in #GeesBend for another production date. We got some leisure time to really enjoy the community and also knocked out another interview with the young Gee’s Bend, Alabama native @therealsmileyjo.
Continuing the work of this #DocumentaryFilm would not have been possible without the support of @durham_arts and @ncartscouncil. I was one of the recipients of the 2024 - 2025 Artist Support Grants and I used that funding to purchase some much needed audio recording equipment like the @ZoomSoundLab H6 handheld recorder, @Sennheiser MKE 600 shotgun mic and EW 112P G4 LAV mic system, and @rodemic VideoMic Pro.
Can’t wait to share this film with the public once it’s done.
Be sure to check out my last post from our fiscal sponsor @SouthernDocFund’s Meet The Makers series where I speak about why this film is important!

We’ve got 2 more production dates, then we’ll be fully focused on production… but we still need your help to finish this film!
If you’d like to help support the film, you can make a tax-deductible donation by visiting the link in my bio. You can also purchase a photography print of some of the images made by our team during production, with 50% of those sales being donated to local Gee’s Bend organization @fqb.legacy.

.
.
.
.
.
#GeesBendWTTH
#blackdocumenterian #blackcreatives #documentarian #blackartists #blackartspace #blackartsupport #blackartnetwork #blackartinamerica #supportblackownedbusinesses #blackartcollectors #youngblackartists #supportblackcreators #SDFSupported #documentaryfilms #documentaryfilmmaker #documentaryfilmmaking #smileyjo #blackfilm #blackdirectors #soulsgrowndeep #SouthernDocumentaryFund #artistsupportgrants #ncarts #ncartscouncil #SparkTheArtsNC #DurhamArtsCouncil #DurhamArts

3

19

SUPPORT OUR PEOPLES!!
@geesbendwtth @southerndocfund

6

1

Introducing Gee’s Bend: Welcome To The Hole, a stunning documentary that offers an insider’s look at the soul of a rural Black community in Alabama—most known for its legacy of quilting, resistance, and cultural brilliance.⁠
⁠
🎬 From Director/Producer Phillip Loken:⁠
⁠
"Hello everyone, my name is Phillip Loken, Director and Producer of Gee's Bend: Welcome To The Hole, a documentary film giving an insider’s perspective on the nuances that have shaped a rural Black community in Alabama, most known for its rich, intergenerational legacy of quilting.⁠
⁠
This film matters to me because Black people have historically not been at the forefront of telling our own stories, and this film is the antithesis of that statement with a Gee's Bend descendant, X aka Brian Xsavior Pettway, as the Executive Producer."⁠

Gee's Bend Welcome To The Hole Official Instagram Page: @GeesBendWTTH
Phillip Loken (Director, Producer, Co-Director of Photography): @StudioPhill_
X The Artist, Brian Xsavior Pettway (Martha Jane Pettway's Great Grandson, Executive Producer, & Protagonist): @X_TheArtist
Courtney Jefferson (Co-Director of Photography): @C_Jefferson_
Ariel "birdfoot" Brown (Editor, Colorist, & Sound Mixer): @byarielbrown
Kwaku Osei (Drone Pilot & BTS Photographer): @afro_daakye
Omo Pastor (BTS Photographer): @omopastorr
Julian Argo (BTS Videographer): @Julian_Argo
⁠
#GeesBend #SouthernDocumentaryFund #BlackDocumentary #BlackSouthernLife #QuiltingLegacy #IndependentFilm

96

9

Today makes 32 years in this skin.
Getting together everything I wanted to share in these posts showed me that I am truly loved by a community that I love right back.
I’m so fortunate and appreciative. From my last birthday up until now, so much has happened.
Ups and downs. lost friends and gained comrades.
I’m aware of the man I was and am grateful for the man I’m becoming.
For those who’ve known me for a long ass time, thank you for stickin’ around and witnessing this growth; let’s continue to grow together.
Here’s to Black Liberation, a continued fight to end all oppression, and whatever the future has for us all.
Rest in power Mr. Rubin Bendolph Jr.

Also, the ink on the contract has dried, so now I can officially say this.
From October 7th, 2025 to January 2nd, 2026, I’ll be exhibiting my first solo exhibition titled “The Calling: Hoodoo’s Communion With The Ancestors” at Winston-Salem, North Carolina’s @deltaartscenter !
The opening reception is scheduled for October 17th 6-8pm; hope to see y’all there!

3

155